I . 1 ' J • , 



- 






CO 












^ 












^^4 - • . /. 












■^P 









' 


















^ 



^ * 






Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 



The Library of Congress 



*p 









a % 




^ • 









•£-. 









■% J < 






~N 






,. "<, 



X 1 - 









Oo. 





















~o 



A^ -P 

http://www.archive.org/details/historyofhenfeveOOburn 



^ 









o.o x 



I Xi 






> 






% $'. 











































































?0 N 












01V 



c*> 






V V 






'<>. 



#V; 






^ v 















**U- 












■?> 



^<c 



\ o ■ *P > 












^ 



.A 



3 o 



* **. c^ 



,0 o. 



*>. »in ° ,<.° 






"^ 



■3> 



^•,#' 












a n 



,V> , o 










IN THE ROBES OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER. 

.from tiu portrait rn possession of (Sro. ID. Burnfjam; 

PRESENTED TO HIM RT HER MAJESTY. THE QUEEN, IN 1853. 
[See Letter, page 13IV| 



THE HISTOEY 



THE HEN FEVEE. 



GEO. P. BUKNHA1. 




3Jn one UoIumc.5=3JUustratet» 

BOSTON: 

JAMES FRENCH AND COMPANY, 

NEW YORK: J. C. DERBY. 

PHILADELPHIA: T. B. PETERSON. 



SF A 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 

GEORGE P. BUENHAM, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



HOBART & ROBBINS, 

New England Type and Stereotype Foundery, 

BOSTON. 

GEO. O. RAND, PRINTER, 3 OORNHILL. 



$mtmx$ t imam, attir §mto 

O F 

POULTRY, 

THE SUCCESSFUL AND UNFORTUNATE DEALERS, 

THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES ; 
AN D 

THE VICTIMS OF MISPLACED CONFIDENCE IN 

THE HEN TRADE, GENERALLY, 

I DEDICATE 

2EJ)is Volume. 



PREFACE, 



In preparing the following pages, I have had the opportunity 
to inform myself pretty accurately regarding the ramifications of 
the subject upon which I have written herein ; and I have 
endeavored to avoid setting down "aught in malice" in this 
"History of the Hen Fever" in the United States. 

I have followed this extraordinary mania from its incipient 
stages to its final death, or its cure, as the reader may elect to 
term its conclusion. The first symptoms of the fever were 
exhibited in my own house at Roxbury, Mass., early in the sum- 
mer of 1849. From that time down to the opening of 1855 (or 
rather to the winter of 1854), I have been rather intimately con- 
nected with the movement, if common report speaks correctly ; 
and I believe I have seen as much of the tricks of this trade as 
one usually meets with in the course of a single natural life. 

Now that the most serious effects of this (for six years) alarm- 
ing epidemic have passed away from among us, and when " the 
people " who have been called upon to pay the cost of its support, 

and for the burial of its victims, can look back upon the scenes 
1* 



VI PREFACE. 

that have in that period transpired with a disposition cooled by 
experience, I have thought that a volume like this might prove 
acceptable to the hundreds and thousands of those who once 
" took an interest in the hen trade," — who may have been 
mortally wounded, or haply who have escaped with only a 
broken wing ; and who will not object to learn how the thing has 
been done, and " who threw the bricks " ! 

If my readers shall be edified and amused with the perusal of 
this work as much as I have been in recalling these past scenes 
while writing it, I am content that I have not thrown the powder 
away. I have written it in perfect good-nature, with the design 
to gratify its readers, and to offend no man living. 

And trusting that all will be pleased who may devote an hour 
to its pages, while at the same time I indulge the hope that none 
will feel aggrieved by its tone, or its text, I submit this book to 
the public. Respectfully, 

Geo. P. Burnham. 

Russet House, Melrose, 1855. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter Page 

I. Premonitory Symptoms of the Disease, 9 

II. The "Cochin-Chinas." Bubble Number One, .... 14 

HI. The First Fowl Show in Boston, 21 

TV. How "Poultry-Books " are Made, 26 

V. Threatening Indications, 32 

VI. The Epidemic Spreading, 37 

VII. Alarming Demonstrations, 41 

VIII. The Fever Working, 47 

IX. The Second Poultry Show in Boston, 52 

X. The Mutual Admiration Society's Second Show, ... 58 

XI. Progress of the Malady, 65 

XII. My Correspondence, 70 

XIII. The Other Side of the Question, 85 

XIV. " Bother'em Pootrums." Bubble Number Two, ... 90 
XV. Advertising Extraordinary, 98 

XVI. Height of the Fever, 104 

XVn. Running it into the Ground, Ill 

XVIH. One of the Final Kicks, 119 

XIX. The Fourth Fowl Show in Boston, 124 

XX. Present to Queen Victoria, 129 

XXI. Experiments of Amateurs, 137 

XXH. True History of "Fanny Fern," .147 



VIII CONTENTS. 

Chapter Pag S 

XXIEE. Convalescence, 155 

XXTV. An Expensive Business, 160 

XXV. The Great Pagoda Hen, 165 

XXVI. " Policy the Best Honesty," 176 

XXVH. A Genuine Humbug, 182 

XXVIII. Baenum in the Field, 190 

XXIX. First " National " Poultry Show in New York, . . 198 

XXX. Barnum's Innate Diffidence, 204 

XXXI. A Suppressed Speech, 213 

XXXH. A "Confidence" Man, . „ 220 

XXXni. The Essence of Humbug, 224 

XXXIV. A Trump Card, 229 

XXXV. "Hold your Horses," 237 

XXXVI. Tricks of the Trade, 243 

XXXVII. Final Death-Throes, 252 

XXXVIII. The Porte-Monnaie I Owe 'em Company, ... . 259 

XXXIX. A Satisfactory Pedigree, 263 

XL. Doing the Genteel Thing, 273 

XLI. The Fate of the "Model" Shanghaes, 279 

XLII. An Emphatic Clincher, ' 288 

XLIII. "Stand from Under," 294 

XLIV. Bursting of the Bubble, 302 

XLV. The Dead and Wounded, 307 

XL VI. A Mournful Procession 312 

XL VII. My Shanghae Dinner, v . . . . . 318 



THE 



HISTORY OF 
THE HEN FEVER. 



CHAPTER I. 

PREMONITORY SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE. 

I was sitting, one afternoon, in the summer of 1849, in 
my little parlor, at Roxbury, conversing with a friend, 
leisurely, when he suddenly rose, and passing to the rear 
window of the room, remarked to me, with considerable 
enthusiasm, 

" What a splendid lot of fowls you have, B ! Upon 

my word, those are very fine indeed, — do you know it? " 

I had then been breeding poultry (for my own amuse- 
ment) many years ; and the specimens I chanced at that 
time to possess were rather even in color, and of good size ; 
but were only such as any one might have had — bred from 
the common stock of the country — who had taken the same 
pains that I did with mine. 

There were perhaps a dozen birds, at the time, in the 



10 THE HISTORY OF 

rear yard, and my friend (then, but who subsequently 
passed to a competitor, and eventually turned into a sharp 
but harmless enemy) was greatly delighted with them, as I 
saw from his enthusiastic conversation, and his laudation of 
their merits. 

I am not very fast, perhaps, to appreciate the drift of a 
man's motives in casual conversation, — and then, again, it 
may be that I am "not so slow " to comprehend certain 
matters as I might be ! At all events, I have sometimes 
flattered myself that, on occasions like this, I can " see as 
far into a millstone as can he who picks it;" and so I 
listened to my friend, heard all he had to say, and made 
up my mind accordingly, before he left me. 

"I tell you, B , those are handsome chickens," he 

insisted. " I 've got a fine lot, myself. You keep but one 
variety, I notice. I 've got 'em all." 

" All what? " I inquired. 

"0, all kinds — all kinds. The Chinese, and the 
Malays, and the Gypsies, and the Chittaprats, and the 
Wang Hongs, and the Yankee Games, and Bengallers, and 
Cropple-crowns, and Creepers, and Top-knots, and Gold 
Pheasants, and Buff Dorkings, and English Games, and 
Black Spanish and Bantams, — and I've several new 
breeds too, I have made myself, by crossing and mixing, in 
the last year, which beat the world for beauty and size, and 
excellence of quality." 



THE HEN FEVEK. 11 

" Indeed ! " I exclaimed. " So you have made several 
new breeds during one year's crossing, eh ? That is 
remarkable, doctor, certainly. I have never been able yet 
to accomplish so extraordinary a feat, myself," I added. 

"Well, I have," said the doctor, — and probably, as he 
was a practising physician of several years' experience, he 
knew how this reversion of nature's law could be accom- 
plished. I didn't. 

"Yes," he continued; "I have made a breed I call the 
1 Plymouth Eocks,' — superb birds, and great layers. The 
— a — ' Yankee Games, ' — regular knock-'em-downs, — 
rather fight than eat, any time ; and never flinch from the 
puncture of steel. Indeed, so plucky are these fowls, that 
I think they rather like to be cut up than otherwise, — 
alive, I mean. Then, I 've another breed I 've made — the 
£ Bengal Mountain Games.' These are smashers — never 
yield, and are magnificent in color. Then I have the 
' Fawn-colored Dorkings,' too; and several other fancy 
breeds, that I 've fixed up ; and fancy poultry is going to 
sell well in the next three years, you may be sure. Come 

and see my stock, B , won't you ? And I '11 send you 

anything you want from it, with pleasure." 

I was then the editor of a weekly paper in Boston. I 
accepted my friend's kind invitation, and travelled forty 
miles and back to examine his poultry. It looked well — 
very well; the arrangement of his houses, &c, was good, 



12 THE HISTORY OF 

and I was gratified with the show of stock, and with his 
politeness. But he was an enthusiast ; and I saw this at 
the outset. And though I heard all he had to say, I could 
not, for the life of me, comprehend how it was that he could 
have decided upon the astounding merits of all these differ- 
ent breeds of fowls in so short a space of time — to wit, 
by the crossings in a single year ! But that was his affair, 
not mine. He was getting his fancy poultry ready for the 
market; and he repeated, "It will sell, by and by." 

And I believe it did, too ! The doctor was right in this 
particular. 

He informed me that he intended to exhibit several 
specimens of his fowls, shortly, in Boston ; and soon after- 
wards I met with an advertisement in one of the agricultu- 
ral weeklies, signed by my friend the doctor, the substance 
of which was as follows : 

Notice. — I will exhibit, at Quincy Market, Boston, 
in a few days, sample pairs of my fowls, of the following 
pure breeds ; namely, Cochin-China, Yellow Shanghae, 
JBlack Spanish, Fawn-colored Dorkings, Plymouth Rocks, 
White Dorkings, Wild Indian, Malays, Golden Hamburgs, 
Black Polands, Games, &c. &c; and I shall be happy to 
see the stock of other fanciers, at the above place, to compare 
notes, etc. etc. 

The above was the substance of the "notice" referred 
to ; and the doctor, coming to Boston shortly after, called 
upon me. I showed him the impropriety of this movement 



THE HEN FEVER. 13 

at once, and suggested that some spot other than Quincy 
Market should be chosen for the proposed exhibition, — in 
which I would join, provided an appropriate place should be 
selected. 

After talking the matter over again, application was 
made to an agricultural warehouse in Ann-street, or Black- 
stone-street, I believe ; the keepers of which saw the advan- 
tages that must accrue to themselves by such a show 
(which would necessarily draw together a great many 
strangers, out of whom they might subsequently make cus- 
tomers) ; but, at my suggestion, this very stupid plan was 
abandoned — even after the advertisements were circulated 
that such an exhibition would come off there. 

Upon final consideration, it was determined that the first 
Exhibition of Fancy Poultry in the United States of 
America should take place in November, 1849, at the 
Public Garden, Boston. 
2 



CHAPTER II. 

THE "COCHIN-CHINAS." BUBBLE NUMBER ONE. 

A public meeting was soon called at the legislative hall 
of the Statehouse, in Boston, which had the effect of draw- 
ing together a very goodly company of savans, honest farm- 
ers, amateurs, poulterers, doctors, lawyers, flats, fanciers 
and humbugs of one kind or another. I never attended 
one of the meetings; and only know, from subsequent 
public and private "reports," what occurred there. 

On this first occasion, however, after a great deal of 
bosh and stuff, from the lips of old men and young men, 
who possessed not the slightest possible shadow of practical 
knowledge of the subject proposed to be discussed, it was 
finally resolved that the name for the (now defunct) associa- 
tion then and there formed, should be " The New England 
Society for the Improvement of Domestic Poultry'''' ! ! ! 

Now, the only objection I ever raised to this title was 
that it was not sufficiently lengthy ! When applied to for 
my own views on the subject, / recommended that it should 
be called the "Mutual Admiration Society." But, though I 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 15 

was thought a great deal of by its members, — especially 
when the concern was short of funds, — in this case they 
thought my proposed title was altogether too applicable ; 
and the original name, above quoted, was adhered to. 

I was honored with the office of vice-president of the 
society, for Massachusetts ; to which place I was reelected 
annually, I believe, until the period of its death. For 
which honor I was not ungrateful, and in consideration of 
which, "as in duty bound, I have ever prayed" for the 
association's prosperity and weal. 

The first name that was placed upon the list of sub- 
scribers to the constitution of this society was that of His 
Excellency Geo. N. Briggs, formerly Governor of this 
commonwealth. He was followed by a long list of 
"mourners," most of whom probably ascertained, within 
five years from the hour when they subscribed to this roll, 
that causing the cock's spur to grow between his eyes was 
not quite so easy a thing to accomplish as one " experienced 
poultry-breeder " at this meeting coolly asserted it to be ! 
How many attempted this experiment (as well as numerous 
others there suggested as feasible), I am not advised. But 
I am inclined to think that those who did try it found it to 
be "all in their eye." 

While these gentlemen were arranging the details of the 
new "society," and were deciding upon what the duties of 
the officers and committees should be, I quietly wrote out 



16 THE HISTORY OF 

to England for information regarding the somewhat notori- 
ous "Cochin- China" fowl, then creating considerable stir 
among fanciers in Great Britain ; and soon learned that I 
could procure them, in their purity, from a gentleman in 
Dublin, whose stock had been obtained, through Lord 
Heytsbury (then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland), direct from 
Queen Victoria's samples. I ordered six of them, — two 
cocks and four hens, — and in December, 1849, I received 
them through Adams & Co.'s Transatlantic Express. 

At this period there was no telegraph established from 
Boston to Halifax, I believe. Some of the reporters for the 
daily city papers usually visited the steamers, upon their 
arrival here, to obtain their foreign files of exchanges ; and 
here my birds were first seen by those gentlemen who have 
made or broken the prospects of more than one enterprise 
of far greater consequence than this "importation of fancy 
fowls" could seem to be. 

But on the day succeeding the coming of those birds, 
several very handsome notices of the arrival of these august 
Chinamen appeared in the Boston papers, and a vast 
amount of credit was accorded to the " enterprising im- 
porter" of the outlandish brutes, that were described in 
almost celestial language ! 

After considerable trouble and swearing (custom-house 
swearing, I mean), the officers on board permitted my team 
to take the cage out of the steamer, and it was conveyed to 



THE HEN FEVER. 17 

my residence in Roxbury, where it arrived two hours after 
dark. 

I had long been looking for the coming of these Celestial 
strangers, and the "fever," which I had originally taken 
in a very kindly way, had by this time affected me rather 
seriously. I imagined I had a fortune on board that 
steamer. I looked forward with excited ideas to beholding 
something that this part of the world had never yet seen, 
and which would surely astound "the people," when I 
could have the opportunity to show up my rare prize, — all 
the way from the yards or walks of royalty itself! I 
waited and watched, with anxious solicitude, — and, at last, 
the box arrived at my house. It was a curiously-built box 
— the fashion of it was unique, and substantial, and foreign 
in its exterior. I supposed, naturally, that its contents 
must be similar in character. That box contained my 
" Cochin-Chinas," — bred from the Queen's stock, — about 
which, for many weeks, I had been so seriously disturbed. 

I am noiv well satisfied that the " Cochin-China " variety 
of fowl is a gross fable. If such a breed exist, in reality, 
we have never had them in this country. Anything (and 
everything) has been called by this name among us, in the 
last five years ; but the engraving on the following page, 
in my estimation (and I have been there !), is the nearest 
thing possible to a likeness of this long petted bird ; and 
will be recognized, I think, by more than one victim, as an 
2* 




PORTRAIT OF THE " COCHIN-CHINA " FOWL? 



THE HEN FEVER. 19 

accurate and faithful portrait of this lauded "magnificent " 
and "superb" bird ! 

I was anxious to examine my celestial friends at once. 
I caused the box to be taken into a shed, at the rear of the 
house, and I tore from its front a piece of canvas that con- 
cealed them from view, to behold a ' — well ! nHm- 

j>orte — they were Cochin- China fowls ! 

But, since God made me, I never beheld six such birds 
before, or since ! They resembled giraffes much more 
nearly than they did any other thing, carnivorous, omniv- 
orous, — fish, flesh, or fowl. I let them out upon the floor, 
and one of the cocks seized lustily upon my India-rubber 
over-shoe, and would have swallowed it (and myself), for 
aught I know, had not a friend who stood by seized him, 
and absolutely choked him off ! 

This is truth, strange as it may seem ; but I presume 
they had scarcely been fed at all upon their fortnight's 
voyage from Dublin, and I never saw any animals so mis- 
erably low in flesh, in my life, before. What with their 
long necks, and longer legs, and their wretchedly starved 
condition, I never wondered that the friendly reporters 
spoke of their appearance as being "extraordinary, and 
strikingly peculiar." 

These were the original " Cochin-China " fowls of Amer- 
ica. And they probably never had the first drop of 
Chinese blood in their veins, any more than had the man 



20 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 



who bred them, and who knew this fact much better than I 
did — who knew it well enough. 

I housed my "prize" forthwith, however, and provided 
them with everything for their convenience and comfort. 
The six fowls cost me ninety dollars. They were beauties, 
to be sure ! When I informed a neighbor of their cost, he 
ventured upon the expressive rejoinder that I " was a bigger 
d d fool than he had ever taken me for." 

To which I responded nothing, for I rather agreed with 
him myself! 

Nine months afterwards, however, I sold him a cock and 
three pullets, four months old, raised from those very fowls, 
for sixty-five dollars ; and I did n't retort upon him even 
then, but took his money. The chickens I sold him were 
" dog-cheap," at that ! 




CHAPTER III. 

THE FIRST FOWL-SHOW IN BOSTON. 

Never in the history of modern "bubbles," probably, 
did any mania exceed in ridiculousness or ludicrousness, 
or in the number of its victims surpass this inexplicable 
humbug, the "hen fever." 

Kings and queens and nobility, senators and governors, 
mayors and councilmen, ministers, doctors and lawyers, 
merchants and tradesmen, the aristocrat and the humble, 
farmers and mechanics, gentlemen and commoners, old men 
and young men, -women and children, rich and poor, white, 
black and gray, — every body was more or less seriously 
affected by this curious epidemic. 

The press of the country, far and near, was alive with 
accounts of "extraordinary pullets," "enormous eggs" 
(laid on the tables of the editors), "astounding prices" 
obtained for individual specimens of rare poultry ; and all 
sorts of people, of every trade and profession and calling in 
life, were on the qui vive, and joined in the hue-and-cry, 
regarding the suddenly and newly ascertained fact that 



22 THE HISTORY OF 

hens laid eggs sometimes ; or, that somebody's crower 

was heavier, larger, or higher on the legs (and conse- 
quently higher in value), than somebody else's crower. 
And the first exhibition of the society with the long name 
came off duly, at last, as agreed upon by the people, and 
myself. 

"The people" ! By this term is ordinarily meant the 
body-politic, the multitude, the citizens, at large, the voters, 

the — the — a — the masses ; the Well, no matter ! 

At the period of which I am now writing, the term signi- 
fied the " hen-men." This covered the whole ground, at 
that time. Everybody was included, and thus nobody was 
left outside ! 

At this first show, the committee " flattered themselves" 
(and who ever heard of, or from, a committee that did n't 
do this !) that never, within the memory of the oldest in- 
habitant, — who, by the way, was then living, but has 
since departed to that bourn from which even defunct hen- 
rnen do not return, — never had such a display been wit- 
nessed ; never had the feathered race before appeared in 
such pristine beauty ; never had any such exhibition been 
seen or read of, since the world begun ! And, to say 
truth, it was n't a very bad sight, — that same first hen- 
show in Boston. 

Thousands upon thousands visited it, the newspapers 
appropriated column after column to its laudation, and all 



THE HEN FEVER. 23 

sorts of people flocked to the Public Garden to behold the 
" rare and curious and inexpressibly-beautiful samples " of 
poultry caged up there, every individual specimen of which 
had, up to that hour, been straggling and starving in the 
yards of "the people" about Boston (they and their 
progeny) for years and years before, unknown, unhonored 
and unsung. 

Gilded complimentary cards, in beautifully-embossed 
envelopes, were duly forwarded by the "committee" to all 
"our first men," who came on foot or in carriages, with 
their lovely wives and pretty children, to see the extraor- 
dinary sight. The city fathers, the public functionaries, 
governors, senators, representatives, all responded to the 
invitation, and everybody was there. 

The cocks crowed lustily, the hens cackled musically, 
the ducks quacked sweetly, the geese hissed beautifully, 
the chickens peeped delightfully, the gentlemen talked 
gravely, the ladies smiled beneficently, the children laughed 
joyfully, the uninitiated gaped marvellously, the crowd 
conversed wisely, the few knowing ones chuckled quietly, 
— everybody enjoyed the thing immensely, — and sud- 
denly, prominent among the throng of admirers present, 
loomed up the stalwart form and noble head of Daniel 
Webster, who came, like the rest, to see what he had only 
" read of" for the six months previously. 



24 THE HISTORY OF 

The committee saw him, and they instantly lighted on 
him for a speech ; but he declined. 

" Only a few words ! " prayed one of them. 

" One word, one word ! " insisted the chairman. 

" I can't ! " said Daniel. 

But they were importunate and unyielding, that enthu- 
siastic committee. 

" Gentlemen ! " said the honorable senator, at last, amid 
the din. "Ladies and gentlemen ! " he continued, as a 
monster upon feathered stilts, at his elbow, shrieked out an 
unearthly crow, that drowned the sound of his voice in- 
stanter, — "Ladies and gentlemen, really — I — would — 
but the noise and confusion is so great, that I cannot be 
heard ! " — and a roar followed this capital hit, that 
drowned, for the moment, at least, even the rattling, crash- 
ing, bellowing, squeaking music of the feathered bipeds 
around him. 

The exhibition lasted three days. Unheard-of prices were 
asked, and readily paid, for all sorts of fowls ; most of those 
sold being mongrels, however. As high as thirteen dollars 
was paid by one man (who soon afterwards became an in- 
mate of a lunatic asylum) for a single pair of domestic 
fowls. It was monstrous, ridiculous, outrageous, exclaimed 
every one, when this fact — the absolute paying down of 
thirteen round dollars, then the price of two barrels of good 



THE HEN FEVER. 25 

wheat flour — "was announced as having been squandered 
for a single pair of chickens. 

I sold some fowls at that show. I didn't buy any there, 
I believe. 

The receipts at the gates paid the expenses of the exhibi- 
tion, and left a small surplus in the hands of somebody, — I 
never knew who, — but who took good care of the money, I 
have not a doubt ; as most of the officers at that time were, 
like myself, " poor, but honest." 

By the time this fair closed, the pulse of the ' ; dear 
people " had come to be rather rapid in its throbs, and the 
fever was evidently on the increase. Fowls were in de- 
mand. Not good ones, because nothing was then said by 
the anxious would-be purchasers about quality. Nobody 
had got so far as that, then. They -wanted foiols only, — 
hens and cocks, — to which they themselves gave a name. 

Some fancied one breed, or variety, and some another ; 
but anything that sported feathers, — from the diminutive 
Bantam to the stork-shaped Chinaman, — everything was 
being sought after by " amateurs " and " fanciers " with a 
zest, and a readiness to pay for, that did honor to the zeal 
of the youthful buyers, and a world of good to the hearts 
of the quiet breeders and sellers, who began first to get 
posted up, and inured to the disease. 

/ was an humble and modest member of this latter class* 
I kept and raised only pure breeds of fowls. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HOW " POULTRY-BOOKS " ARE MADE. 

Soon after this, I learned that one Asa Rugg, of Penn- 
sylvania (a nom de guerre), was in the possession of a 
breed of fowls that challenged all comparison for size and 
weight. They were called the Chittagong fowl, and were 
thus described in the poultry-books published in 1850 : 

" The fowl thus alluded to has been imported, within 
the last two or three years, into Pennsylvania, and ranks 
at the head of the list, in that region, for all the good qual- 
ities desirable in a domestic bird. The color is a streaked 
grey, rather than otherwise, and the portraits below" (my 
birds) " are fine samples of this great stock. They are 
designated as the Grey Chittagongs." 

"Asa Rugg," in his letter to me, described this stock as 
being at the head of the races of poultry, having "the 
largest blood in them of any variety of fowl with which he 
was acquainted." The pair he first sent me were light-grey 
and streaked, and " at less than seven months old weighed 
over nineteen pounds." 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 27 

He said, in that insinuating and delicate manner so 
peculiar to the habits of gentlemen who possess what 
another wishes to buy of them, — "I did not intend, my 

dear Mr. B , to part with these magnificent specimens at 

any figure whatever. I assure you I had much rather 
retain them ; for they are very fine, as you would say, 
could you see them. If, however, you are disposed to pay 
my price, I shall let you have them. I really shall regret 
their absence from my yard, however. Try and make up 
your mind to be satisfied with something else — won't you? 
These fowls I must keep, if possible," &c. &c. 

Now, Asa knew very well, if he had charged me two 
hundred (instead of twenty) dollars for those grey fowls, I 
should have taken them from him. Of course I sent for 
them at once; and, within ten days, they were in my 
poultry-house, a new wonder for the hundreds who called 
to see my " superb " and " extraordinary " fowls. 

A competitor turned up, a few months after this, a noto- 
rious breeder in P , who, though a respectable man, 

otherwise, never knew a hen from a stove-pipe, but who had 
more money at that time than I had, and who, in the hen- 
trade, possessed the impudence of the devil, without the 
accompanying graces to carry out his object. 

This man chanced, while in Pennsylvania, to hear Asa 
speak of trie, and at once he stepped in to "head me " in 
that quarter. He bought all the "Grey Chittagongs " that 



28 THE HISTOBY OF 

Rugg had left (most of which, when they reached P , 

happened to be dark red and hrowii), and forthwith set up 
an establishment in opposition to me ; "for what purpose I 
never knew. I did not know him from a side of sole- 
leather, I had never spoken to or of him, and I could not 
comprehend why this person should render himself, as he 
did, my future "death's head" in the fowl-trade. 

If he went into the traffic for the purpose of making 
money out of it, he has found, by this time, I have no 
doubt, that he would have been, at the very least calcula- 
tion, five thousand dollars better off had he never thrust 
himself into a business of which he did not know the first 
rudiments. 

If he embarked in it to interfere with or to injure "me, 
personally, he has now ascertained, I imagine, that it 
required a faster horse than he was in the habit of driving 
to keep in sight of my team. 

If his purpose was the gratification of his own petty spite 
or ambition only, he has had to pay for the enjoyment of 
it, — ay, to his dear cost ! — and he is welcome to all he ever 
made out of his contemptible, niggardly huckstering. 

Soon after the first exhibition, it was announced by 
the publishers in Boston that Dr. Bennett's new Trea- 
tise would be immediately issued by them. The doctor 
had originally applied to the establishment in which I 
was then a partner, to issue this work ; but I recom- 



THE HEN FEVER. 29 

mended him to the others, because our own facilities 
for getting it out were not so good as I thought were 
theirs. 

I furnished a considerable amount of the matter for that 
book, and had already obtained, at my own individual ex- 
pense, several of the engravings which appear in the work 
spoken of. After the original cuts were placed in the pub- 
lishers' hands, they were reduced in size, and injured (for 
my purposes), as I conceived, when they finally appeared in 
print. 

The doctor's book on poultry had been announced again 
and again ; but it did not make its appearance in the mar- 
ket, in consequence of his tardiness. Week after week, and 
month after month, passed by, but still no Dr. Bennett's 
book could be found. I saw some of the proof-sheets finally, 
observed the fate of the illustrations of my fowls, and made 
up my mind what I would do. The book was at last 
announced positively to appear in three weeks. 

I immediately called at a stereotype foundery, and asked 
how much time it would require to stereotype a work of one 
hundred and fifty pages for me. I was told that it would 
occupy three to four weeks to complete it. " Can't it be 
done in owe week?" I inquired. The proprietor smiled, 
and said that this was impossible. I replied, " Well, sir, 
to-day is Tuesday. I have engaged to deliver in New York 
city, on the morning of a week from next Saturday, three 
3* 



30 THE HISTORY OF 

thousand copies of a book which I am about to write. Is 
there no way that you can help me out ? " The gentleman 
looked at me incredulously. 

I added, "Mr. ; I have been in the newspaper busi- 
ness a good many years, and I have had the message of the 
President of the United States — a document occupying a 
dozen columns of solid brevier and minion — set up and 
put to press within forty-two minutes from the time it 
reached our office. Anything can be accomplished, now-a- 
days, if we but will it." 

1 ' But, you say you are about to write it. When will 
nie ' copy' be ready ? " said the stereotyper. 

" I have thought of this," I replied, " but a few hours. 
The title, even, is not yet decided upon. I will give you 
fifty pages of manuscript to-morrow morning, the next day 
I will add another fifty, and you shall have the whole in 
hand by Friday morning." 

He kindly undertook to aid me. I engaged three engrav- 
ers, who worked day and night upon the drawings and 
transfers of the fowls for my illustrations ; the paper was 
wet down on Monday and Tuesday ; I read the final revised 
proof of my work on Wednesday night ; the book went to 
jpress on Thursday ; the binders were ready for it as it came 
up, the covers were put on on Friday morning, and I sent 
to the New York house (who had bespoken them), by 
Harnden's Express, on Friday evening, three thousand 



THE HEN FEVER. 31 

five hundred copies of the " New Enq-land Poultry- 
Breed ee," illustrated with twenty -Jive correct engrav- 
ings of my choice, magnificent, superb, unapproachable, 
pure-bred fowls. 

This book had an extraordinary sale, — far beyond my 
own calculations, certainly. I got it out for the purpose 
of "doing justice" to my own stock, and calculated that 
it would prove a good advertising medium for me, — which it 
did, by the way. But the demand for the " New England 
Poultry-Breeder " was immense. And thirteen different 
editions (varying from three thousand five hundred to one 
thousand copies each) were issued within as many weeks, 
and were sold, every copy of them. This is the true his- 
tory of the "New England Poultry-Breeder." 

By and by Dr. Bennett's book appeared. The market 
was now glutted with this kind of thing, and this work, 
though a good one, generally, dragged on the hands of its 
originators. I doubt if a thousand copies of this book 
ever found their way into the market, the author being too 
deeply engrossed with his then thriving trade, to trouble 
himself about urging the sale of his book, or of thinking 
about the interests of his publishers. 



CHAPTER V. 

THREATENING INDICATIONS. 

Another meeting was now called at the Statehouse, 
which was even more fully attended than the first, and at 
which much more serious indications of enthusiasm were 
apparent. 

Old men, and middle-aged farmers, and florists, and agri- 
culturists, and live-stock breeders, from all parts of this and 
the neighboring states, congregated together on this event- 
ful occasion, and entered into the debate with an earnestness 
worthy of so important and " glorious " a cause. 

Some of the speakers had by this time got to be so elated 
and so ardent that they rehearsed all they knew, and some 
of them told of a great deal more than themselves or any- 
body else had ever dreamed of, bearing upon the subject of 
poultry-raising. But, really, the subject was an exciting 
one, and the talkers were excusable ; they could n't help it ! 

Shades of morus multicaulis victims ! Shadows of 
defunct tulip-growers ! Spirits of departed Merino sheep 
speculators ! Ghosts of dead Berkshire pig fanciers ! 



THE HISTORY OP THE HEN FEVER. 33 

Where were ye all on that eventful night, when six hun- 
dred sober, "respectable" representatives of "the people" 
were assembled within the walls of our time-honored state 
edifice upon Beacon Hill, in serious and animated conclave, 
to decide the momentous question that "hens icas hens," 
notwithstanding, nevertheless ! 

"Mr. President," exclaimed one of these gentlemen 
(whose speech was not publicly reported; I think), "Mr. 
President, the times is propishus. We 're a-enterin' on a 
new ery. The -people is a-movin' in this 'ere great, and 
■wonderful, and extraordinary — I may say, Mr. President, 
this 'ere soul-stirrin' and 'lectrefyin — branch of interestin' 
rural erconomy." (Applause, during which the speaker 
advanced a step or two nearer to the presiding officer's desk, 
wiped his nose fiercely upon a fiery-red bandanna handker- 
chief, and proceeded.) 

" The world, Mr. President," he continued, "is a-growin' 
wiser ev'ry day, — I may say ev'ry hour, Mr. President ! 
Ay, sir, ev'ry minute*" (Loud applause, amid which one 
old gentleman in a bob-wig was particularly vociferous.) 

" I say, Mr. President, the people is a-growin' wiser con- 
tinu'lly ; and by that expression, sir, I mean to convey the 
idee that they are a-gettin' to know more, sir ! Who will 
gainsay this position ? Whar 's the man — whar 's the 
er — individooal, sir — that '11 stan' up 'ere to-night, in this 
hallowed hall, under the shadder of this doom above our 



34 THE HISTORY OF 

heads, sir, in view of the great American eagle jender, — 
that ' bird of promise,' sir, — and dispute the assertion that 
I now make, Mr. President, as an American citizen, with- 
out fear and without reproach ! " (Deafening shouts of 
" Nobody ! nobody can dispute it ! ") 

"No, sir! I think not, I wot not, I ventur' not, I 
cal'k'late not ! I say, Mr. President, it is no use for nun 
of us to contend agin the mighty ingine of progress ; 'nless 
we 'd like to get our crowns mashed in for our pains, sir. 
That 's the way it 'pears to me ; and I 've no doubt that 
this 'nlitened ordinance now present, sir, will agree with 
me on this p'int, and admit the truth that present indica- 
tions, sir, p'int, with strikin' force, to the proberble likeli- 
hood that the deeds begun here to-night must be forever 
perpetooated hereafter, and that — a — they will — er — go 
down, sir, to our children, and our children's children, a 
posteriori, in the futur, forever!" ("Yes, yes!" and 
thundering applause.) 

" But, sir, the p'int at issoo seems to me to be clear as 
the broad-faced sun on a cloudy day. I 'm no speaker, sir. 
I am not the man, sir, that goes about to proclaim on tops 
of houses ! I 'm a quiet citizen, and calls myself one o' 
' the people,' sir. But w'en the questions comes up of this 
natur', — w'en it 'pears to me to be so clear and so transpa- 
rent, — w'en the people goes abroad, sir, in their might, and 
— er — and can't stay ter home, — w'en such things occurs, 



THE HEN FEVER. 35 

sir, then I'm round ! " (Shouts of " Good ! good ! good ! " 
the respectable old gentleman in the bob- wig creating a 
cloud of dust about him with his stamping and excited 
gestures.) 

" Mr. President, I have a' most done — — " (" No, no ! 
Go on, go on ! " from all parts of the house.) 

"No, sir; as I've said afore, I'm no speaker, an' I 
make no pretenshuns to oraterry. I 'm a plain man, sir ; 
but I feel deeply interested in this subject." (Nobody had 
yet ascertained what the "subject" was, beca,use the gen- 
tleman had n't alluded to any.) " And, sir, I feel that I 
should be unjust to myself and to this ordinance ef I did 
not say what I have, sir. I go in for the poultry -breedin', 
sir, all over ! Sir, 

I love 'em, I love 'em, — an' who shall dar' 
To chide me for lovin' and praisin' them 'are ? 

" I love 'em, sir, — chickens or poultry, — dead or alive. 
My father afore me loved 'em, sir ; and I 'm rejoiced to see 
the feelin's that 's exhibited here to-night. And, 'less any- 
body should suspect that I have ventured upon these few 
remarks with mercenary motives, Mr. President (though 
perhcqys no such suppersishun would animate no man's 
bosom), I will state, sir, that I have no fowk to sell, sir, — 
none whatever. No, sir ! not a fowl ! I 'm a buyer, sir, 
— I want to buy," shouted the excited man, — and he sat 



36 THE HISTORY OP THE HEN FEVEK. 

down amid the deafening plaudits of his associates at this 
meeting, who fully appreciated his speech and his palpable 
disinterestedness. 

{Item. — I found this gentleman the next day, and 
informed him that I had heard of his destitution. I had 
understood that he had no poultry, but was in search of 
pure-blooded stock. Before night I had fully supplied 
him with genuine samples, at thirty dollars a pair, and no 
"discount for cash.") 

Before this meeting concluded, the prices of fowls, and 
eggs, and feathers, were duly discussed, the details of which 
I will defer to the next chapter. 

But all the indications at this convention were really of 
a threatening character ; and it would have required the 
strength of several stout men to have held certain of the 
speakers as they got warmed up, and rattled away, for dear 
life, upon the advantages that must accrue to the nation, in 
a thousand ways, from the encouragement of this epidemic, 
and the certain, inevitable losses that must be sustained by 
" the people " if they did n't go into this thing with a rush, 

Most of these speakers, however, had fowls for sale ! 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE EPIDEMIC SPREADING. 

While all this was transpiring, my " splendid " Cochin- 
China fowls had arrived from England, and I had had a 
nice house arranged, in which to keep and exhibit them to 
visitors. 

The pullets began to lay in January, 1850, and imme- 
diately afterwards my trade commenced in earnest, which 
continued, without interruption, up to the close of the year 
1854. 

Among the "monstrosities" presented at the second 
meeting at the Boston Statehouse were several propositions 
that were suggested by gentlemen-amateurs and farmers in 
regard to the price that should be fixed on, by members of 
the Society with the elongated title, for eggs sold for incu- 
bation. 

One man thought that two dollars a dozen for most of 
the fancy kinds would pay well. This gentleman (I do 
not remember who he was) probably calculated to furnish 



38 THE HISTORY OF 

fancy eggs as a certain agricultural concern had been doing 
for some months : that is, by first purchasing them at a 
shilling a dozen from the eastern packets, or in Quincy Mar- 
ket. The next man thought that three dollars per dozen 
would be fair. Another member believed that one dollar 
was enough for twelve eggs, "but he didn't know much 
about it," he acknowledged ; which was pretty evident from 
his remarks. At any rate, he had never fed a " laying 
hen " long enough on good corn to ascertain how much she 
would devour while she was furnishing him with the said 
twelve eggs, I imagine ! One gentleman, more liberally 
disposed, probably, ventured to express his willingness to 
pa y Jive dollars a dozen for what he wanted. I understood 
he got home safely after the meeting, though it was feared 
he would be mobbed for his temerity in making this ridic- 
ulous offer ! 

I had already fixed my price for the eggs that were to be 
dropped by my "extraordinary and superb" Cochin- China 
fowls, which by this time had got to be " the admiration of 
the State " (so the newspapers said). I had the best fowls 
in this world, or in any other ; this being conceded by every 
one who saw them, there was no necessity of " talking the 
subject up" to anybody. I charged twelve dollars a dozen 
for my eggs — and never winked at it ! 

And why shouldn't I have the highest price? Were not 
my fowls the " choicest specimens " ever seen in America? 



THE HEN FEVER. 39 

Did n't everybody so declare ? Did n't the press aad the 
poultry-books concede this, without an exception? Well, 
they did ! And so, for months, I obtained one dollar each 
for my Cochin- China fowls' eggs; and I received order after 
order, and remittance after remittance, for eggs (at this 
figure), which I could not begin to supply. 

And I didn't laugh, either ! I had no leisure to laugh. 
I filled the orders as they came, — "first come, first served," 
— and for several months I found my list of promises six 
or eight weeks in advance of my ability to meet them with 
genuine eggs. 

I was not so well informed, then, as I was afterwards. I 
think all the eggs that were then wanted might have been 
had. But, as the boy said, when asked where all the stolen 
peaches he had eaten were gone, " I donno ! " 

Will it be credited that, during the summer of 1850, I 
had dozens of full-grown men — gentlemen — but enthusi- 
astic hen- fanciers (who had contracted the fever suddenly), 
who came to my residence for Cochin-China eggs, at one 
dollar each, and who, upon being informed that I had n't one 
in the house, would quietly sit down in my parlor and wait 
two, three, or four hours at a time, for the hens to lay 
them, a feto, that they might take them away with them ? 
Such is the fact, however it may be doubted. 

I subsequently sold the eggs at ten dollars a dozen ; then 
at six dollars ; and finally, the third and fourth years, at 



40 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

five dollars. This paid me, because I sent off a great 
many. 

But they didn't hatch well after having been transported 
away and shaken over in the hands of careless and igno- 
rant or reckless express agents. Thus the buyers came 
again. Many of the early fanciers tried this experiment 
over and over again, but with similar ill-success ; and when 
they had expended ten, twenty, or thirty dollars, perhaps, for 
eggs, they would begin at the beginning aright, and pur- 
chase a few chickens to rear, from which they could finally 
procure their own eggs, and go forward more successfully. 
But all this took time to bring it about. 

And meanwhile somebody (I don't say who) was 
" feathering a certain nest " as rapidly as .a course of high- 
minded and honorable dealing with his fellow-men would 
permit. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ALAEMING DEMONSTRATIONS. 

My premises were literally besieged -with visitors, and 
my family attendants were worn out with answering the 
door-bell summons, from morning till night. 

" Is Mr. B at home ? Can we see his Cochin-Chinas? 

Can we look at Mr. B 's fowls? Might we take a look at 

the chickens?" were the questions from sun to sun again, 
almost ; and I was absolutely compelled, in self-defence, 
to send the fowls away from home, for a while, for the sake 
of relief from the continual annoyances to which, in conse- 
quence of having them in my yard, I was subjected. 

Fifteen, twenty, often forty callers in a single day, would 
come to see my "magnificent" Cochin- China fowls. But 
I sent them off, and then " the people " cried for them ! 

"Who's dead?" queried a stranger, passing my door 
one day, and observing the carriages and vehicles standing 
in a line along the front of my garden -fence. 

"Nobody, I guess," said another; "that's where the 
Cochin-Chinas are kept." 
4* 



42 THE HISTORY OP 

"The what?" 

" The Cochin-Chinas." 

"What's them?" 

" Don't you know? " 

" No ; never heard of 'em, afore." 

" Never heard of Burnham's Cochin-Chinas? " 

" Never ! What are they ? " 

"Well, I reckon you ha'n't lived in these 'ere parts long, 
my friend," continued the other; "and you'd better step 
in and look at 'em." 

In came the stranger, and after examining the fowls he 
returned. 

"How do you like 'em?" asked the man who had 
already seen them, and was waiting for his friend outside. 

" They 're vouchers, that 's a fact ! " exclaimed the grat- 
ified stranger. And this was the universal opinion. 

Nobody had ever seen such fowls {I had seen a good 
many better ones ! ) — nobody had ever beheld any so large, 
so heavy, so fine. And every one who came to look at them 
purchased or engaged either eggs or chickens from these 
"extraordinary" and " never- to-be-too-much-lauded " royal 
Cochin-China fowls ! 

For my first broods of chickens (at three and four months 
old) I readily obtained twenty-five dollars a pair: and 
every one of them went off " like hot cakes " at this figure. 
It was too low for them, altogether ; and I had occasion to 



THE HEN FEVER. 4d 

regret, subsequently, that I did not charge fifty dollars a 
pair ; — a price which I might just as easily then have 
obtained as if I had charged but one dollar a pair, as events 
proved to my satisfaction. 

But everything connected with this fever could not well 
be learned at once. I was not a very dull scholar, and I 
progressed gradually. One year after the receipt of my 
Cochins, I got my own price for them, ask what I might. 
I sold a good many pairs at one hundred dollars the couple ; 
and, oftentimes, I received this sum for a trio of them. 

Things begun to look up with me. I had got a very 
handsome-looking stock on hand, at last; and when my 
numerous customers came to see me, they were surprised 
(and so was J) to meet with such "noble" samples of 
domestic fowls. "Magnificent!" "Astonishing!" cried 
everybody. 

A splendid open carriage halted before my door, one day, 
and there alighted from it a fine, portly-looking man, whom 
I had never seen before, and whose name I did not then 
learn ; who, leaving an elegantly-dressed lady behind in the 
vehicle, called for me. 

I saw and recognized the carriage, however, as one of 
Niles' ; and I was satisfied that it came from the Tremont 
House. As soon as the gentleman spoke, I was also satisfied, 
from his manner of speech, that he was a Southerner. He 
was polite and frank, apparently. I invited him in, and he 



44 THE HISTORY OP 

went to look at my fowls ; that being the object, he said, ot 
his visit. 

He examined them all, and said, quietly : 

"I'd like to get half a dozen of these, if they didn't 
come too high ; but I understand you fanciers have got the 
price up. I used to buy these chickens for a dollar apiece. 
Now, they say, you're asking five dollars each for them." 

I showed him my stock, — the "jowe-bred" ones, — and 
informed him at once that I had not sold any of my chick- 
ens, latterly, at less than forty dollars a pair. 

He was astounded. He did n't want any — much : that 
is, he wasn't particular. He could buy them for five 
dollars; shouldn't pay that, nohow; wanted them for his 
boy ; would come again, and see about it, &c. &c. 

A five-year-old stag mounted the low fence at this 
moment, and sent forth an electrifying crow, such as would 
(at that period) have taken a novice "right out of his 
boots ;" and a beautiful eight-pound pullet showed herself 
beside him at the same time. The stranger turned round, 
and said : 

" There ! What is your price for such a pair as that, for 
instance?" 

" Not for sale, sir." 

" But you will sell them, I s'pose ? " 

" No, sir. I have younger ones to dispose of; but that 
pair are my models. I can't sell them." 



THE HEN FEVER. 45 

The gentleman's eye was exactly filled with this pair of 
chickens. 

" What will you take for those two fowls ?" 

" One hundred dollars, sir," I replied. 

" I guess you will — when you can get it," he added. — 
" Name your lowest price, now, for those two. I want 
good ones, if any." 

" I prefer to keep them, rather than to part with them at 
any price," I insisted. " If, however, a gentleman like 
yourself, who evidently knows what good fowls are, 
desires to procure the choicest specimens in the country, 
why, I confess to you that those are the persons into whose 
hands I prefer that my best stock should fall. But I will 
show you some at a lower figure," I continued, driving this 
pair from the fence. 

" Don't you ! Don't drive 'em away ! " said the gentle- 
man ; — " let 's see. That 's the cock ? " 

"Yes, sir." 

"And this is the hen?" 

"Yes." 

" One hundred dollars ! You don't mean this, of 
course," he persisted. 

" No, I mean that I would rather keep them, sir." 

"Well — I'll— take them" said the stranger. 

" It 's cruel. But, I '11 take them;" and he paid me five 
twenty-dollar gold pieces down on the spot, for two ten- 



46 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN EEVER. 

months-old chickens, from my " splendid " Royal Cochin- 
China fowls. 

He had a tender spot someivhere, that I had hit, during 
the conversation, I presume. He took the two chickens 
into his carriage, and I have never seen or heard from him 
from that day to this. I trust, however, if ' ' these few 
lines" should ever meet his eye, that his poultry turned 
out well, and that he himself is in good health and spirits ! 

I called this gallant young cock " Frank Pierce," in 
honor of my valiant friend now of the White House, at 
Washington. It will be seen that I thus sold Frank for 
fifty dollars ; a sum which the majority of the people of 
this country have since most emphatically determined was 
a good deal more than he ever was worth ! 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE FEVER WORKING. 

About this time an ex-member of Congress, formerly from 
Pennsylvania, was invited to deliver the address before one 
of the county agricultural societies of that state (where the 
fever had now begun to spread with alarming rapidity) , who, 
in the course of his speech on that occasion, delivered him- 
self of the following pointed and forcible remark. 

Speaking of poultry and the rare qualities of certain 
domestic fowls, he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, next to a 
beautiful woman, and an honest farmer, I deem a Shanghae 
cock the noblest work of God ! " 

Now, this expression might be looked upon, by some 
persons, as savoring of demagogism, or, at the least, as an 
approach to " running this thing into the ground " (or into 
the air) ; but the honorable gentleman no doubt felt just 
what he said. I have seen many sensible men who felt 
worse than this — a good deal — on this self-same subject ; 
and who expressed themselves mucj). more warmly in regard 
to the characteristics and beauties of domestic poultry ; but, 



48 THE HISTORY OE 

to be sure, it was after they had " gone through tfee mill," 
and had come out at the small end of the funnel. 

In New England, especially, prior to the second show of 
poultry in Boston, the fever had got well up to " concert 
pitch ;" and in New York State " the people " were getting 
to be very comfortably interested in the subject — where 
my stock, by this time, had come to be pretty extensively 
known. 

The expenses attendant upon this part of the business, to 
wit, the process of furnishing the requisite amount of informa- 
tion for " the people " (on a subject of such manifestly great 
importance), the quantum sufficit in the way of drawings, 
pictures, advertisements, puffings, etc., through the medium 
of the press, can be imagined, not described. 

The cost of the drawings and engravings which I had 
executed for the press, from time to time, during the years 
1850, '51, '52, and '53, exceeded over eight hundred dol- 
lars; but this, with the descriptions of my "rare" stock 
(which I usually furnished the papers, accompanying the 
cuts), was my chosen mode of advertising. And I take 
this method publicly to acknowledge my indebtedness to the 
press for the kindness with which I was almost uniformly 
treated, while I was thus seriously affected by the epidemic 
which destroyed so many older and graver men than myself; 
though few who survived the attack "suffered" more 
seriously than I did, during the course of the fever. For 



THE HEN FEVER. 49 

instance, the large picture of the fowls which I had the 
pleasure of sending to Her Majesty Queen Victoria (in 
1852), and which appeared in Gleasorfs Pictorial, the New 
York Spirit of the Times, New England Cultivator, &c, 
cost me, for the original drawing, engraving, electrotyping, 
and duplicating, eighty-three dollars. 

All these expenses were cheerfully paid, however, because 
I found my reward in the consciousness that I performed 
the duty I owed to my fellow-men, by thus aiding (in my 
humble way) in disseminating the information which " the 
people " were at that time so ravenously in search of, name- 
ly, as to the person of whom they could obtain (without 
regard to price) the best fowls in the country. 

This was what " the people" wanted; and thus the mal- 
ady extended far and wide, and when the fall of 1850 
arrived, buyers had got to be as plenty as blackberries in 
August, whilst sellers " of reputation " were, like the visits 
of angels, few and far between. I was, by this time, con- 
sidered " one of 'em." I strove, however, to carry my 
honors with Christian meekness and forbearance, and with 
that becoming consideration for the wants and the wishes of 
my fellow-men that rendered myself and my " purely-bred 
stock " so universally popular. . 

Ah ! when I look back on the past, — when I reflect upon 
the noble generosity and disinterestedness that characterized 
all my transactions at that flush period. — when I think of 
5 



50 THE HISTOEY OF 

what I did for " the cause," and how liberally I was 
rewarded for my candor, my honesty of purpose, and my 
disingenuousness, — tears of gratitude and wonder rush to 
my eyes, and my overcharged heart only finds its solace by 
turning to my ledger and reading over, again and again, the 
list of prices that were then paid me by " the people," week 
after week, and month after month, for my " magnificent 
samples" of "pure-bred" Cochin-China chickens, the 
original of which I had imported, and which were said to 
have been bred from the stock of the Queen of Great 
Britain. 

But, the Mutual Admiration 1 mean, the " Soci- 
ety " whose name was like 

" Lengthened sweetness, long drawn out," 
was about to hold its second annual exhibition ; and, as the 
number of its members had largely increased, and as each 
and all of those who pulled the wires of this concern (while 
at the same time they were pulling the wool over the eyes 
of "the people") had plans of their own in reference to 
details, I made up my mind, although I felt big enough to 
stand up even in this huge hornet's nest of competition, to 
have things to suit my " notions." 

I now had fowls to sell ! I had raised a large quantity 
of chickens ; winter was approaching, corn was high, they 
required shelter, the roup had destroyed scores of fowls for 
my neighbors, and I did n't care to winter over three or 



THE HEN FEVER. 



51 



four hundred of these " splendid " and " mammoth " speci- 
mens of ornithology, each one of which could very cleverly 
dispose of more grain, in the same number of months, than 
would serve to keep one of my heifers in tolerable trim. 

Such restrictions were proposed by the officers of the 
Society with the lengthened cognomen, that my naturally 
democratic disposition revolted against the arbitrary meas- 
ures talked of, and I resolved to get up an exhibition of my 
own, where this matter could be talked over at leisure, and 
which I did not doubt would " turn an honest penny " into 
my own pocket ; where, though I had done well thus far, 
there was still room, as there was in hungry Oliver Twist's 
belly, for "more." 




CHAPTER IX. 

THE SECOND POULTRY-SHOW IN BOSTON. 

On the 2d, 3d, and 4th days of October, in the year of 
our Lord 1850, the "grand exhibition" (so the Report 
termed it), for that year, came off at the large hall over the 
Fitchburg Railroad Depot, in Boston, ''which proved a 
most extensive and inviting one" (so # continued the Re- 
port), " far exceeding, both in numbers and in the quality 
of specimens offered, anything of its kind ever got up in 
America. 

" The birds looked remarkably fine in every respect, 
and the undertaking was very successful. A magnificent 
show of the feathered tribe greeted the thousands of visitors 
who called at the hall, and all parties expressed their satis- 
faction at the proceedings. 

" The Committee awarded to George P. Burnham, of 
Melrose, the first premiums for fowls and chickens. The 
prize birds were the l Royal Cochin- Chinas ' and their 
progeny, which have been bred with care from his imported 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 53 

stock ; and which were generally acknowledged at the head 
of the list of specimens." 

The prices obtained at this exhibition ranged very high, 
and " full houses " were constantly in attendance, day and 
evening, to examine and select and purchase from the 
"pure-bred" stock there. "Mr. Burnham, of Melrose " 
(continued the Report), " declined an offer of $120 for his 
twelve premium Cochin-China chickens, and subsequently 
refused $20 for the choice of the pullets." 

" The show was much larger than the first one, and the 
character of the birds exhibited was altogether finer, though 
the old fowls were, for the most part, moulting. A deep 
interest was manifested in this enterprise, and it went off 
with satisfaction to all concerned," added the Report. 

In order that the details of this experiment (which i" 
projected and carried through, myself) may be appreciated 
and understood, I extract from the "official" Report the 
following items regarding this show, the expenses, the 
prize-takers, &c. 

The " Committee of Judges," consisting of myself, G. 
P. Burnham, Esq., and a gentleman of Melrose, made the 
following statements and "observations," in the Report 
above referred to : 

" The Exhibition was visited by full ten thousand per- 
sons, during the three days mentioned. The amount of 
money received for tickets was four hundred and seventy- 
5* 



54 



THE HISTORY OF 



three dollars and thirty-eight cents ; and the following 
disbursements were made : 

Cash paid for rent of hall, . $175.00 

" " amount of premiums and gratuities, 135.00 

17.60 
70.40 
18.21 
27.50 
15.00 
25.56 
7.37 



for lumber and use of tables, 
for lighting hall, advertising, etc., 

tickets, cards and handbills, . . 

carpenters and attendants, . . 

police and door-keepers, . . . 

grain, seed, buckets, pans, etc., . 
coops, cartage and sundries, . 

Total expenses, 

Amount received, as stated, 

Deficit, 



#491.64 

473.38 

$18.26" 



When the state of the funds was subsequently more par- 
ticularly inquired into, however, it was found that the 
amount of money actually received at the door was a little 
rising nine hundred and seventy dollars, instead of "four 
hundred and seventy- three. " as above quoted. But this 
was a trifling matter; since the " Committee of Judges" 
spoken of above accounted for this sum, duly, in the final 
settlement. 

The " Committee" aforesaid awarded the following pre- 
miums at this show, after attending to the examination con- 
fided to them — namely : 



THE HEN FEVER. 55 

" First premium, for the best six fowls contributed, to 
George P. Burnham, of Melrose, Mass., $10. 

" For the three best Cochin-China Fowls (Royal), to 
George P. Burnham, Melrose, Mass., $5. 

For the twelve best chickens, of this year's growth 
(Royal Cochin-China), to George P. Burnham, Melrose, 
$5." 

And there were some other premiums awarded, I 
believe, there, but by which I was not particularly bene- 
fited ; and so I pass by this matter without further remark, 
entertaining no doubt whatever that all the gentlemen who 
were awarded premiums (and who obtained the amount of 
the awards) exhibited at the Fitchburg Hall Show pure- 
bred fowls. 

After making these awards, the " Committee of Judges " 
(consisting, as aforesaid, of myself, Mr. Burnham, and a 
fancier from Melrose) state that "they find great pleas- 
ure" — (mark this !) — "they find great pleasure in alluding 
again to the splendid contributions " of some of the gentle- 
men who had fowls in this show, — and then the Report 
continues as follows : 

" The magnificent samples of Cochin-China fowls, con- 
tributed by G. P. Burnham, of Melrose, were the theme of 
much comment and deserved praise. These birds include 
his imported fowls and their progeny — of which he exhib- 
ited nineteen splendid specimens. To this stock the Com- 



56 THE HISTORY OF 

mittee unanimously awarded the Jirst premiums for fowls 
and chickens; and finer samples of domestic birds will 
rarely be found in this country. They are bred from the 
Queen's variety, obtained by Mr. Burnham last winter, at 
heavy cost, through J. Joseph Nolan, Esq., of Dublin, and 
are unquestionably, at this time, the finest thorough-bred 
Cochin-Chinas in America." 

My early hen-friend the "Doctor" — alluded to in the 
opening chapter of this book — exhibited a fowl which the 
" Committee " thus described in their report : 

" The rare and beautiful imported Wild India Game 
hen, contributed by Mr. B. F. Griggs, Columbus, Geo., was 
a curiosity much admired. This fowl (lately sold by Dr. 
J. C. Bennett, of Plymouth, to Mr. Griggs, for $120) is 
thorough game, without doubt ; and her progeny, exhibited 
by Dr. Bennett, were very beautiful specimens. To this 
bird, and the ' Yankee Gaines ' of Dr. Bennett, the Com- 
mittee awarded a gratuity of $5." 

So miserable a hum as this was, I never met with, in all 
my long Shanghae experience. It out-bothered the Doc- 
tor's famous " Bother' ems," and really out- Cochined even 
my noted Cochin-Chinas ! But I was content, i" was one 
of the " Committee of Judges." I had forgot ! 

This Committee's Beport was thus closed : 

" It has been the aim of the Committee to do justice to 
all who have taken an interest in the late Fowl Exhibition, 



THE HEN FEVER. 57 

and they congratulate the gentlemen who have sustained 
this enterprise upon its success." 

They did ample justice to this Wild Bengal Injun Hen, 
that is certain. The Cochin-China trade received an 
impulse (after this show concluded) that astonished even me, 
and I am not easily disturbed in this traffic. And I have no 
doubt that the people who paid their money to witness 
this never-to-he-forgotten (by me) exhibition, were also 
satisfied. 

The experiment was perfectly successful, however, 
throughout. I forwarded to all my patrons and friends 
copies of this Report, beautifully illustrated ; and the orders 
for "pwre-bred chickens from the premium stock " rushed 
in upon me 5 for the next four or five months, with renewed 
vigor and spirit. 

This first exhibition at the Fitchhurg Depot Hall proved 
to me a satisfactorily profitable advertisement, as I carried 
away all the premiums there that were of any value to any- 
body. But then it will be observed that the " Committee 
of Judges" of this show were my "friends." And, at 
that time, the competition had got to be such that all the 
dealers acted upon the general democratic principle of going 
"for the greatest good of the greatest number." In my 
case, I considered the " greatest number " Number One ! 



CHAPTER X. 

THE MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY'S SECOND SHOW. 

In the month following, to wit, on the 12th, 13th and 
14th of November, 1850, the second annual exhibition of 
the Simon Pure Society with the extended title was held 
at the Public Garden, in Boston. 

No premiums were offered by the society this year, and 
there was n't much to labor for. I was a contributor, and I 
believe I was elected a member of the Committee of Judges 
that year. How, I did not know. At any rate, I wrote 
the published Report upon the exhibition. A Mr. Sanford 
Howard was chairman of this committee, if I remember 
rightly ; and though undoubtedly a very respectable and 
well-meaning man (if he had not been so, he would n't have 
been placed on a Committee of Judges with me, I imagine), 
this Mr. Howard knew positively nothing whatever in 
regard to the merits or faults of poultry generally. He 
had acquired some vague notions about what he was pleased 
to term "crested" fowls, and five- toed, white-legged, white- 
plumed, white-billed, white-bellied Dorkings, — of which 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVEK. 59 

he conversed technically and learnedly ; but as to his 
knowledge of the different varieties and breeds of domestic 
poultry then current, and their characteristics, it "was evi- 
dently warped and very limited. 

But Mr. Howard had been connected for some months 
with a small monthly publication in New York State, and, 
like myself, I presume, among the board (God knows who 
they were, but I don't, and never did!) who originally 
chose this " Committee," he had "a friend at court," and 
was made chairman of the committee too, — koia, I never 
knew, either. 

In their Report, the Committee observe, again, that 
" never in this country, if in the world, was there collected 
together so large a number of domestic fowls and birds as 
were sent to this exhibition, probably ; and, though the 
most liberal arrangements were made in advance, it was 
found that the accommodations, calculated for ten thousand 
specimens, were entirely insufficient. The Committee 
merely allude to this fact to show the actual extent of this 
enterprise, and the importance which the undertaking 
has assumed, in a single year from the birth of the 
Association. 

"According to the records of the Secretary, there were 
contributed to the Society's exhibition of 1850 some four 
hundred and eighty coops and cages. There were in all 
over three hundred and fifty contributors ; in addition to 



60 THE HISTORY OF 

which about forty coops, containing some six hundred fowls, 
were sent to the Garden and received on exhibition upon 
the two last days of the Show; and which could not be 
recorded agreeably with the regulations made originally. 

" The palpable improvement in the appearance of the 
fowls exhibited in 1850, as compared with the samples 
shown in 1849, offers ample encouragement to breeders for 
further and more extended efforts ; and your Committee 
would urge it upon those who have already shown them- 
selves competent to do so much, to go on and effect still 
greater jirogress in the improvement of the poultry of New 
England." 

This Report (the second of the series) did my stock ample 
justice, I have not a doubt. I wrote it myself, and in- 
tended that it should do so. The text was in nowise 
changed when printed, and a reference to the document 
(for that year) will convince the skeptical— if any exist — 
whether I was or was not acquainted with adjectives in the 
superlative degree ! 

A very singular occurrence took place about this time, 
the basis of which I did not then, and have never since, 
been able to comprehend, upon any principles of philoso- 
phy, economy, business, benevolence, or even of sanity. But 
I am not very clear-headed. 

In the addenda to my Report (above named) there ap- 
peared the anexed statement, by somebody : 



THE HEN FEVER. 61 

"The Trustees refer to the following with mixed pride 
and pleasure ; the munificence and motive of the gift are 
most creditable. A voluntary kindness such as that of 
Mr. Smith is a very gratifying proof that the labors of the 
Society are not regarded bj enlightened men as vain : 



" Boston, 12th February, 1851. 

"G. W. Smith, Esq. 

" Sir: A meeting of the Trustees of the ' New England 
Society for the Improvement of Domestic Poultry ' was held 
last evening, Col. Samuel Jaques, President of the Society, 
in the chair, and a full quorum being present, when the 
Treasurer announced the receipt of your very handsome 
donation of one hundred and, fifty dollars in aid of the 
Society's funds ; whereupon it was moved, and unanimously 
agreed, that the most grateful thanks of the Society were 
justly due to you for such a munificent testimony of your 
desire for its prosperity ; that the Secretary communicate to 
you the assurance of the high appreciation with which the 
donation was received; and that its receipt, and also a 
thankful expression of gratitude towards you, should be 
placed on the records of the Society. 

" I can only reiterate the sentiments Contained in my in- 
structions, in which I fully and gratefully concur; and, 
with best wishes for your long-continued welfare, 
" I am, sir, very truly yours, 

" John C. Moore, Rec. Secretary." 



Now, it will be observed that this was not John Smith 
who presented this sum, but another gentleman, and a dif- 
ferent sort of individual altogether. He gave it (one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars in hard cash) the full value of a nice 
6 



62 THE HISTORY OF THE HE^ FEVER. 

pair of niy best "pure-bred" Cochin-Chinas, without 
flinching, without any fuss, outright, freely, u in aid of the 
Society's funds." 

Liberal, generous, benevolent, charitable, kindly Mr. 
Smith ! You did yourself honor ! You were one of the 
kind of men that I should very much liked to have had for 
a customer, about those days. But, after due inquiry, I as- 
certained that you did not keep, N or breed, poultry. You were 
only a " friend " to the Society with the elongated name, — 
the only friend, by the way, it ever had ! Heaven will 
reward you, Mr. Smith, sooner or later, for your disinter- 
estedness, but the Society never can. Be patient, however, 
and console yourself with the reflection that he who giveth 
to, the poor, lendeth, &c. &c. The Society with the long- 
winded title was poor enough, and you cannot have forgot- 
,ten that he who casteth his bread (or money) upon the 
waters will find it, after many days. You will find yours 
again, I have no doubt ; but it will be emphatically " after 
.many days." 

The second show closed, the expenses of which reached 
;the sum of one thousand and twenty -seven dollars eighteen 
rsents, and the receipts at which amounted to one thousand 
: and seventy -nine dollars eighty-four cents, exclusive of the 
.above-named donation. The Society had now a balance of 
two hundred and two dollars sixty -six cents in hand, and it 
went on its way rejoicing. 





§■ 



s \wM 



>s 







THE SHANGHAE REFERRED TO IN LETTER NO. 17. (See page 80.) 



64 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEI!^ FEVER. 



Col. Jaques (the first President) now " resigned his 
commission," and Moses Kimball, Esq., was chosen in his 
stead. I found myself once more among the Vice Presi- 
dents, John C. Moore was elected Secretary, Dr. Eben 
Wight was made Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and 
H. L. Devereux became Treasurer for the succeeding year. 

These officers were all " honorable men," who were thus 
placed in position to watch each other I The delightful 
consequences can readily be fancied. What my own duties 
were (as Vice-President) I never knew. I supposed, how- 
ever, that, as " one of 'em" thus elevated in official rank, 
I was expected to do my uttermost to keep the bubble float- 
ing, and to aid, in my humble way, to maintain the infla- 
tion. And I acted accordingly; performing my duty " as 
I understood it " ! 







CHAPTER XI. 

PROGRESS OF THE MALADY. 

Immediately after this second exhibition, the sales of 
poultry largely increased. Everybody had now got fairly 
under "weigh in the hen-trade : and in every town, at every 
corner, the pedestrian tumbled over either a fowl-raiser or 
some huge specimen of unnameable monster in chicken 
shape. 

I had been busy, and had added largely to my " supe- 
rior " stock of " pure-blooded " birds, by importations from 
Calcutta, Hong-Kong, Canton and Shanghae, direct. In 
two instances I sent out for them expressly, and in two 
or three other instances I had obtained them directly from 
on shipboard, as vessels arrived into Boston and New York 
harbors. 

I was then an officer in the Boston Custom-house, — a 
democrat under a whig collector, — otherwise, alive skinned 
eel in a hot frying-pan. But I found that my business had 
got to be such that I could not fulfil my duty to Uncle 
Sam and attend appropriately to what had now got to be 
6* 



66 THE HISTORY Off 

of very much greater importance to me ; and so I resigned 
my situation as Permit Clerk at the public stores, very 
much to the regret of everybody in and out of the Custom- 
house, and especially those who were applicants for my 
place ! 

I had purchased a pretty estate in Melrose, and now I 
enlarged my premises, added to my stock, and raised (dur- 
ing the summer and fall of 1851) over a thousand fowls, 
upon my premises. This did not begin to supply the de- 
mands of my customers, however, or even approach it. 
And, to give an idea of my trade at that period, I will 
here quote a letter from one of my new patrons. It came 
from the interior of Louisiana, in the fall of 1851. 

" Geo. P. Burnham, Esq., Boston. 

"lam about to embark in the raising of poultry, and 
I hear of yourself as an extensive breeder in this line. Do 
me the favor to inform me, by return mail, what you can 
send me one hundred pairs of Chinese fowls for, of the 
yellow, red, white, brown and black varieties ; the cocks to 
be not less than eight to ten months old, and pullets ready 
to lay ; say twenty pairs of each color. And also state how 
I shall remit you, in case your price suits me, &c.' 



I informed this gentleman that I had just what he 
wanted (of course), and that if he would remit me a draft 
by mail for fifteen hundred dollars — though this price was 
really too low for them — I would forward him one hun- 



THE HEN FEVER. 67 

dred pairs of fowls " that would astonish him. and his neigh- 
bors." Within three weeks from the date of my reply to 
him, I received a sight draft from the Bank of Louisiana 
upon the Merchants' Bank, Boston, for fifteen hundred 
dollars. I sent him such an invoice of fowls as pleased 
him, and I have no doubt he was (as he seemed to be) per- 
fectly satisfied that he had thus made the best trade he ever 
consummated in the whole course of his life. 

During the next spring I bred largely again, and sup- 
plied all the best fanciers in New England and New York 
State with stock, from which they bred continually during 
that and the succeeding year. 

In the spring of 1852 the Mutual Admiration Society 
of hen-men got up their third show, at the Fitchburg 
Depot (in May, I think), where a goodly exhibition came 
off", and where there were now fowls for sale of every con- 
ceivable color and description, good, bad, and indiiferent. I 
contributed as usual, and, as usual, carried away the palm 
for the best samples shown. And here was evinced some 
of 4he shifts to which certain hucksters resorted, to make 
"the people" believe that white was black, that they 
originally brought this subject before the public eye, and 
that they only possessed the pure stock then in the country. 

Reverends, and doctors, and deacons, and laymen, — all 
were there, in force. Every man cried down every other 
man's fowls, while he as strenuously cried up his own. Upon 



68 THE HISTORY OF 



one cage appeared a card vouching for the fact that a cer- 
tain original Shanghae crower within it, all the way from 
the land of the Celestials, weighed fourteen pounds and three 
ounces, and that a hen, with him, drew nine pounds six 
ounces (almost twenty-four pounds). When the birds were 
weighed, the first drew ten and a half pounds, and the 
other eight and a quarter only. This memorandum ap- 
peared upon the box of a clergyman contributor, who had 
understood that size and great weight only were to be the 
criterion of merit and value thenceforward. Another con- 
tributor boldly declared himself to be the original holder of 
the only good stock in America. A third claimed to be the 
father of the current movement, and had a gilded vane upon 
his boxes which he asserted he had had upon his poultry- 
house for five years previously. Another stated that all 
my fowls (there shown) were bred from his stock. And 
still another proclaimed that the identical birds which I con- 
tributed were purchased directly of him ; he knew every 
one of them. Finally, one competitor impudently hinted 
that my birds actually then belonged to him, and had only 
been loaned to me (for a consideration) for exhibition on 
this occasion ! 

When the fair closed, however, the matter was all set 
right, as may be gathered from the following extract from 
the official Report of the third show, of the Committee of 
Judges, of which I was not a member : 



THE HEN FEVER. 69 

"At this third Boston Show," says the Committee, "the 
best and most faultless descriptions of Red and Buff Shang- 
haes were shown by G. P. Burnham, Esq., and others. 
And of the Cochin- Chinas, the specimens of Geo. P. Burn- 
ham, etc., were each and all notable, and worthy of public 
appreciation." 

This was satisfactory to me, and I made the most of this 
" werry fav'rable opinion" of the august Committee, — who 
added the following, in their Report, in reference to the 
action of Southern purchasers : 

"It seems, from reliable information received by mem- 
bers of the Committee, that fowls raised in New England, 
and exported South, attain to a much larger size, and are 
vastly more prolific, than in our colder climate. This is 
specially so in reference to the produce of stocks recently im- 
ported from the East, namely, the Shanghaes, Cochin-China 
fowls, and others of larger varieties. So sensible have 
some of the most eminent Southern breeders become that 
such is the case, that they are annually in the habit of 
buying their young stock from the Northern States, and 
they find the system -profitable. In this way, New Eng- 
land bids fair to become the supply-market, in a great 
measure, for the South and West." 

This was beautiful ! " Annually in the habit." I liked 
that portion of it. And Southern buyers seemed to like it, 
too, judging from the manner in which orders poured in 
upon us, after this gentle hint from such authority ! I 
believe that the Chinese fowls really did better in the South 
than they did with us, this way. At least, \hope they did ! 



CHAPTER XII. 

MY CORRESPONDENCE. 

By this time my correspondence with gentlemen in all 
parts of America and Great Britain had got to be rather 
extended. I took from the post-office from ten to twenty- five 
or thirty letters, daily ; and amongst them were some curi- 
ous samples of orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody. 
I offer the annexed specimens — of course without names or 
dates — merely to show how the young aspirants for fame 
(in the poultry-trade) felt, about those days ; and, also, to 
give some idea of the progress of the fever among us, as 
time passed by, etc. etc. 

No. 1. 

Sm — Mr. Burnham ; 

i red in Nu england poultry breeder that yu kep 
fouls an aigs for sail, i want one duzen aigs if tha doant 
cum tu tu mutch, ime a poor maim an carnt pa a gret 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 71 

pris. wot can yu cend me a cluzen of yure best aigs for. 
ansur by male and direck yure leter tu me tu mi dress. 

Yr Respec'y, &c. 



No. 2. 

My Dear Sir: 

I am a poor clergyman, and I have some leisure, 
which. I can devote to raising a few good fowls. If your 
price is not too high for the rather limited contents of my 
purse, please inform me, by return of mail, what you can 
furnish me with pure Cochin- China eggs for. I am desirous 
to procure a few ; and I prefer that you would select for 
me, — in a half-dozen, say two male and four female eggs. 
I suggest this, because I am informed that your long expe- 
rience in this interesting branch of rural economy has 
enabled you to decide (upon examining them) whether eggs 
will produce cocks or pullets. Your early answer will con- 
fer a favor on, Sir, yours, truly, 



No. 3. 
Mr. Burman : 

I close you ten dolls. Cend me a doz. of your 
Cotchen Chiny eggs rite away — cause I hav a -hen thats 
been a setting on some stones I put under her now most a 
week. You rote me that you would hav them about this 



72 THE HISTOEY Of 

time, you know. Cend them by 's Express, and tell 

the man who fetches them not to turn the box over, at all. 
I want half and half — that is to say, half cock eggs, and 
half hen eggs. You know what I mean by this. Them 
that has the sharp ends on to one side — them 's the cocks, 
and them that 's round and smooth at both ends — them 's 
the hens. Forwud immediately, and mark with care 
glass this side up — don't shake this with speed. 

Yours, &c. 



No. 4. 

G. P. Burnham, Esq. 

Dear Sir : I saw your beautiful Cochin- China fowls 
last week, in the paper, and am desirous to obtain a few 
eggs from them, if possible. 

Will they hatch under our common hens ? Or, must we 
have the pure bloods to sit upon them ? I am a novice, 
somewhat, in this business. I enclose you twelve dollars 
(the price for a dozen, I believe), which please forward, at 
your early convenience, by express, and oblige 

Yours, &c. 



No. 6. 

Friend Burnham: 

Enclosed please find ten dollars for another dozen of 
your pure Cochin-China eggs. The first ones you sent 



THE HEN FEVER. 73 

me (from some cause) did not hatch. I have kept a hen 
(a very good sitter, too) upon that first lot, constantly, for 
four weeks, now — and I don't believe I shall get a chick, 
you see ! So, please forward these now, right aicay — 
because my hen will get tired of waiting, you know, if I 
don't keep her right along, steady. The $10 you will 
find within. Yours, resp'y, 



P. S. Can you inform me what is good for lice on fowls ? 
I find that my hen is covered with a million of them, now. 
Don't forget this, please.^ 

No. 6. 

Sur — wen i cum to boston nex weak i want to see yure 
poltry i am a ole hand at the bizness myself an I like to 
see good kinds of poltry every ware, i see yurn in the 
paper an i like them verry much can yu sel a hen without a 
cock, i have sevral cocks now of the black dawJcin pure 
bred and fine an i would change one of them with yu for a 
cochon chiner hen if yu say so. answer by fust male. 

Yure in haist 



Mr. P. G. Barnum, } 

boston. J 



* After a hen had set over four weeks on her nest, I should suppose she 
might have been thus affected ! 

7 



74 THE HISTORY OF v 

No. 7. 

Dear Sir : Yours duly received. I did not suppose 
that the price of the " Cochins " was so high — hut I must 
have a trio of them, at any figure. I enclose you fifty 
dollars for them, agreeably with your proposal, relying 
upon your known good taste in selections, and upon your 
proverbial reputation as regards the keeping only of pure 
stock. Send them by Adams & Co.'s Express, in a roomy 
cage. If they are prime, my neighbors will very shortly 
order from you, I am sure. 

Yours, resp'y, 



No. 8. 
Mr. Barnam : 

Them two fowls I bought of you, by seeing the pictur 
in the newspaper, and which I paid you $35 cash down 
on the nail for, aint what they 're cracked up to be — 
not by a long short, sir. Now, what I want you to do is 
to sen me back my munney, or I '11 prosecute you and put 
you in prizon for cheating people by false pertences. I was 
so mad when I took them out of the box that I'd a good 
mine to kill an eat em both on the spot.* I aint no hen- 
man, I 'd have you to understan, an you can't come none 
of this kine of nonsense over me. Sen me back my mun- 
ney, or I '11 complain of you in tu days before a Justis of 

* 0, the cannibal ! 



THE HEN FEVER. 75 

the Peas — a friend of mine, that '11 give you Jits if you 
air a big man. I don't keer for that. I want my munney. 
The fowls is both sick, too. Answer this tu once, or els 
sen me back my munney.* 

No. 9. 

Gr. P. BURNHAM, ESQ. : 

' I saw a cage of superb Cochin- China fowls from your 
yard, yesterday, en route to Mobile. Can you duplicate 
them ? If so, at what price ? I had understood that a 

Mr. kept choice fowls. I visited his place, but saw 

none there that seemed worth the taking away. If you can 
send me such a trio as I saw at Adams & Co.'s, let me 
know it immediately, and your price for them. How shall 
I remit you ? Yours, &c. 



No. 10. 

Mr. Burnham : 

I enclose you one hundred dollars, by check on Shoe 
and Leather Dealers' Bank, Boston (No. 417), to your 
order, for the fine fowls you describe in yours received this 
day. They should be good ones, as I have no doubt they 
are. Forward, at once, 

And believe me, 

Yours, 



* I never heard from this customer again, and should now be glad to 
know if he ever got his " munney " ' 



76 THE HISTORY OF 

No. 11. 

G. B. Burnham, Boston. 

Sir : When I paid you $25 (twenty-five dolls.) for 
a pair of Cochin- China chickens, according to your own 
terms, I did not suppose you would dare to send to me 
(whom you must know to be a judge of all kinds of poul- 
try) a pair of Shanc/haes, instead of those I ordered ! * I 
want none but /mre-bred fowls in my collection, nor will I 
have them there, either. I have now a plenty of the 
Shanghaes, and I ordered a pair of Cochin- Chinas of you. 
Now, I want to know what you will do in this matter. 
Will you send me a pair of Cochins, or not ? That is all 
I want to know at present. From 

Yours, truly, 

P. S. I am a lawyer by profession ; and I submit to no 
imposition of this sort, you may be sure. 

No. 12. 

g. p. burnham. 
My Dear Sir : 

The magnificent " Cochin- China " birds you for- 
warded me last are the admiration of every one who be- 
holds them ; and I am greatly your debtor for this superb 

lot of fowls. My neighbor, Hon. Mr. M , desires me 

to request you to forward him four as nearly like mine as 

* Here was a " lawyer," who knew the difference between a Cochin- 
China and a Shanghae ! 



THE HEN FEVER. 77 

possible, and your draft on me, at sight, for the cost, will 
be duly honored. He can afford (and is willing) to pay 
liberally for them.* Charge him accordingly; but be care- 
ful that you do not send him finer samples than mine are, 
— which, by the way, I do not think possible. I enclose 
you draft for $120, on Merchants' Bank, Boston, for your 
bill. And am Yours, truly, . 

No. 13. 
Sir — I hav alwas heerd yu was a scamp, and now I 
know yu are.f Them egs yu sent me was smasht all up, 
an they was runnin' down the sides of the box. What am 
I to do with them, sir — do yu think? Do yu spose I 've 
gut money so plenty as to throw it way in this manner ? 
Yu didnt put in harf meal anuf, and the hole of them was 
spilte, besides being roten I hav no manner of dout. Now 
if yu send me back the six dolls, that the postmaster see me 
put into my fust letter to yu, all 's well an good. And ef 
yu don't, see if I don't publis yu and yure caracter tu 
the hole wurld yu infermus cheet yu. Yu'd aughter be 
ashamed tu send a man egs that wa, anny how. So no 
more at present tell I heer from yu. . 

No. 14. 

Friend Burnham : 

I have heard creditable accounts of thy poultry (of 

* This was the kind of gentleman I loved to fall in with, 
t Some persons would consider this personal ! 

7* 



78 THE HISTORY OF* 

the Cochin-China variety), and I am induced from common 
rumor to believe thee a man who dealeth justly and honor- 
ably. I desire to procure a few of these choice fowls, if not 
too expensive ; and will thank thee to inform me what thy 
price is for such, at ages varying from four to eight months 
old. Thy early reply will oblige thy friend and well- 
wisher, 

No. 15. 
G. P. Burnham, Esq. - — Dear Sir : Send me ten trios 
more of the Cochin- China chickens, immediately. If you 
can put them down to $35 the trio, now, it will leave 
me a better margin. All the others are sold, at $60 the 
trio. Enclosed is draft on Bank of Commerce, Boston, for 
$400. In haste, yours, 



No. 16. 

Sir — 

I want tu get sum coshin chiney aggs, them as will 
hatch out chickns with fethers onto the leggs an no mistaik. 
if you got them kind yu can cend me wun dusen an i will 
cen yu bak the munny wen the chickns is hached with feth- 
ers onto there leggs not otherwise. If yu dont like tu cend 
them on this turms yu can keepe 'em yureself. I bort too 
duzsen eg in bostun an their wasnt none of em had no 
fethers on the leg, i mene the chick' ns, wen tha was hached. 
an I dont expek i shall be fuled no mor by no such humbugg 



THE HEN FEVER. • 79 

by a good dele, i pade my munny for genwine aigs and I 
donte see no reesun wy peeple isn't onnest. How could i 
tell wether their was chickns in the egs or not ? of course 
i cou'dn't. and i doant consider sech bissiness no bettern than 
cheetin rite out. i bort em twict this wa, an i sharnt be 
fuled agin arter waitin as I did both times over three 
weeks, ef yu will plese to sen me the pure aigs abuv 
menciond and wate tell tha hach fether leggs chickns, well 
an good, ive no dout yu air a onnest man, cos all the 
noospapers pufs yu. But sum of the hen traiders aint no 
better than thaid oughter be — that's my pinion.* 

Yours &c. etc. . 

No. 17. 
Mr. P. B. Burnum ; Sur, 

If you hav enny of them big Cokin Shiney fowl, that 
eat off tops of flour barils, I want sum. I gut a big 
nufoulan dogg that ways hard onto 140 pouns, and I want 
tu cell him, an git sum of them Cokin Shinys. This dogg 
is a gucl dogg and dont eat much. I feed him on fish and 
hoggs hasslits and it dont cost much to keep him. He bitt 
a pedler's arm most off yisterday, but he woudnt be much 
trubble to you, if you kep him chaind all the time sose he 
couldnt bite nobody. If you will rite me what you ask for 
yure fowls, I will inform you what I ask for my dog. I 
dont want none nless thay can eat off tops of flour barrils, 

* I would liked to have seen the dealer that could " fule " this customer 
more than " twict." 



80 THE HISTOKY OF 

of course. Them's the kind forme.* Anser by return 
mail. Yours Resp'y, 



No. 18. 

G. P. Burnham, Esq. : 

I have got a Shanghae cock weighing 15| pounds, 
and I want a few hens to match him. Can you supply 
me ? My crower stands three feet four inches high, and 
his middle toe measures 7| inches in length. What do you 
think of that ? I want six twelve-pound hens. Dr. Ben- 
nett can supply me, I presume ; but I want pure-bred 
stock. I have no doubt my crower will weigh eighteen or 
nineteen pounds, at two years old ; he is now only eight 
months old ! Let me hear from you. 

Resp'y, . 

No. 19. 
Mr. Burnham: 

I always took you to be a man of honor, and I sup- 
posed you knew (if anybody did) what a Cochin- China fowl 
was, because you imported your stock. Now, those you 
sent me, and for which I willingly paid you $40 for the 
three, are feathered on the legs ; this should not be, of 
course. How is this ? They are fine, but I am certain 
they can be nothing but mere Shanghae fowls. Let me 
know about this, will you? Yours, &c. 



* I informed this purchaser that I could send him a pair which, if they 
" could n't eat off the tops " of his flour-barrels, I 'd warrant would eat 
up the contents of one as quickly as he could desire ! 



THE HEN FEVER. 81 

No. 20. 

My Dear Sir : 

I hardly know what to write you about the stock I 
had of you, six months ago, for "Cochin-Chinas." That 
they are not Cochins I feel positive, however; for one 
half the chickens came smooth-legged, and the rest are 
heavily-feathered on the legs ! ! I consider them only 
Shanghaes, and now I want to know if you can send me a 
trio of pure bloods, that you knoxo to be Cochins. If so, 
I care nothing about price. I want blood. " Blood tells," 
you know. Let me hear from you, and state your own 
views in this matter. I will be governed by your advice. 
Enclosed is ten dollars for a dozen of your " Cochin " eggs 
— pure, you know. In haste, 

Yours truly, . 

No. 21. 
Mr. Burnham. 

Sir : Do you call yourself a man of honor ? I bought 

one doz. Cochin-China eggs of you, for which I paid 

you six dollars, cash. I set them, and I got but ten. 

chickens out of them (two eggs I found rotten, in the nest). 

Every one of these chicks are cocks, sir — cocks ! Now, 

what the devil can / do, do you imagine, with ten cocks ? 

I want to breed fowls. That is what I bought the eggs 

for ; to begin right. You must have known better than 

this. Anybody could have seen that these were all male 



82 THE HISTORY OF 

eggs, /saw it, at once (I remember), but I hoped I was 
mistaken. What do you propose to do about this ? Let 
me know, at o?ice, without fail. In haste, 



No. 22. 

Sir : You may think well of the Cochin-China fowls, — I 
donH. Those you sent me are long-legged, and there are 
no feathers on their legs, or feet, as there ought to be. i" 
know what a Cochin-China fowl is, too well to be deceived 
in this way. I will keep them. You are a humbug. 
You are welcome to the thirty dollars I paid you. I don't 
ask you to return it. I don't want it. I can get along 
very well without it. You need it. Keep it. Much good 
may it do you ! In haste, 



P. S. Don't you wish you may get another $30 out of 
me, that way ? 0, yes — I guess you will — ha ! ha ! 

No. 23. 

Mr. Barman. Dear Sir : I see in the Poultry Books 
that the Cotchin-China fowls lays two eggs every day,* 

* " This gigantic bird," says Richai'dson, a noted English "writer, "is 
Yery prolific, frequently laying two, and occasionally three eggs on the 
same day!" And, in support of this monstrous assertion, he subse- 
quently refers, as his authority for this statement (which was called in 



THE HEN FEVER. 83 

and sometimes three a-day. I have hens that lays two 
eggs a-day, frequenly, but I want to get the breed that 
will lay three eggs a-day, reglar. If you have got anny 
of the Cotchins that you know lays three eggs a-day, I 
would like to get a few, at a fair price. I don't pay no 
fancy prices for 'em, though. The hen fever won't larst 
forever, I don't believe ; and then when its busted up, 
what 's the fowls good for, even if they do lay three eggs 
a-day? Let me hear from you, — but don't send any fowls 
unless you are sure they lay three eggs every day ! 

Yours, &c., 



No. 24. 
Mr. Burnham. — Sir : lama gentleman, and I have 
no disposition to be fractious. I sent you twelve dollars, in 
a letter, for a dozen "Cqtchin" eggs, and I set them. 
After waiting twenty-three days, I found two grizzled-col- 
ored chickens in the nest yesterday, both of them with huge 
top-knots on their polls ! What does this mean ? Am I 
to be swindled out of my money thus ? By return of mail 
if you do not refund my money, if I live I will prosecute 

question), to the " Rt. Hon. Mr. Shaw, Recorder of Dublin, to Mr. Wal- 
ters, Her Majesty's poultry-keeper, and to J. Joseph Nolan, Esq., of 
Dublin." This was, in my opinion, one of the hums of the time, and I 
never had occasion to change that opinion. I do not believe the hen that 
really laid two eggs in one day ever lived to do it a second time ! I have 
heard of this thing, however. But I never knew of the instance, myself. 



84 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

you, if it costs me a thousand dollars. You may rely on 
this. I am not a man to be trifled with, and I refer you to 

Messrs. & , who know me ; you evidently do 

not ! In haste, 



[I did not reply to this spicy favor, because, if the gen- 
tleman really was not a "fractious" man, I imagined he 
would like his pure-bred chickens better as they grew up ; 
and, besides, I could afford to wait for "a gentleman" to 
cool off. I never heard from him, afterwards; and con- 
cluded that he did n't live to carry out his laudable inten- 
tion of expending a thousand dollars in prosecuting me ! I 
trust that, before he departed, he became hopefully pious. 
Peace to his manes !] 

No. 25. 
Sir : Them fouls you sent me, got the sore-hed. I gin 
em tuppentyn and unyuns and brandy, but it want no use. 
The poletry books sed so, and I follered the direction, and 
it killed 'em both deader 1 n thunder, in one night ! Now 
you 've gut my mony, and I haint narry fowls. What '11 1 
do? Don't you think this a pooty impersition? Send me 
another pear, to once — if you don't want Jits. 

In haist, 



[I sent this man " another pear" — only I did n't !] 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE QUESTION. 

The foregoing are only a very few samples of hundreds 
upon hundreds of similar letters I constantly received, for 
nearly five years. 

All the blame occasioned by careless express-men, of 
false blood imposed upon me originally, of tardy hens, of 
the hatching or non-hatching of eggs transported hundreds 
of miles, of feathered legs upon chickens, or the absence 
of them, of every species of mishap that could by any pos- 
sibility befall the fancier and amateur, through his own 
ignorance or errors, — every kind of mistake was charged to 
me ! But, with a Christian meekness, I bore it all. 

I was threatened with civil prosecutions, with the House 
of Correction, the State Prison, the Penitentiary, and all 
sorts of other punishments, for my remissness ; but I sub- 
mitted with a quiet resignation, because " the people " were 
so deeply engaged in this pursuit, and everybody now had 
the fever so shockingly, that I sympathized with all man- 
kind, and attributed these trifling ebullitions of ill-will, or 



86 THE HISTORY OF 

raving, to the spasms caused by the prevalence and the 
severity of the epidemic. 

On the other hand, I was so often cheered on in my 
labors of love by the kind consideration of a very different 
sort of patrons, that I did not sink under the persecution 
of those who would gladly have floored me, could the thing 
have been readily accomplished. I pocketed the money of 
my customers, however, bred good fowls, followed up the 
trade sharply, and found myself sailing easily along, in 
spite of the contemptible and small-fry opposition of which 
I was continually the object. As an agreeable offset to the 
complaints and murmurings in certain quarters, the follow- 
ing few letters will tell their own story : 

From Hon. Henry Ciay. 

Ashland, 1851. 

Geo. P. Burnham, Esq., Boston. 

My dear Sir : I duly received your obliging letter, 
informing me that you had sent by the Express of Messrs. 
Adams & Co. a cage containing four fowls for me, and I 
postponed acknowledging it until the fate of the fowls 
should be ascertained. I have now the satisfaction to advise 
you that they all reached here safely. 

They have been greatly admired, not only for their enor- 
mous size, but for their fine proportions and beautiful 
plumage. I thank you, my dear sir, most cordially, for this 



THE HEN FEVER. 87 

very acceptable present. It has been my aim, for many 
years, to collect at this place the best improved breeds of 
the horse, the cow, the sheep, swine and the ass — though 
the last, not the least valuable, in this mule-raising state. 

To my stock on hand your splendid Cochin-China fowls 
will be a congenial and valuable addition ; and, if we suc- 
ceed with them, I will take care not to monopolize the 
benefit of them. I am greatly obliged to you, and. 
With high respect, I am 

Your obd't servant, 

H. Clay. 

From Gov. Geo. N e Briggs. 

Pittsfield, 1851. 

My Dear Sir : 

The cage of Cochin-China chickens you were kind 
enough to send, reached me in safety ; and I am much 
obliged to you for this favor. 

They are, beyond comparison, the finest domestic fowls I 
have ever seen, and I shall breed them with such care that 
I hope to be able to give you a good account of them in the 
future. 

They are very much liked by all who have seen them, 
and you will please accept my thanks for your attention. 
I am, resp'y, yours, 

Geo. N. Briggs. 



50 THE HISTORY OF 

From Hon. Daniel Webster. 

Marshfield, 1851. 

G. P. Burnham, Esq. 

Dear Sir : The coop of chickens arrived safely, and 
are noble specimens of the Chinese fowl. You will rarely 
meet with samples apparently so well bred, and they will 
do any one credit. I thank you for the consignment, and 
consider them a most valuable addition to my stock of poul- 
try. Accept my best wishes, and believe me, dear sir, 
Yours, very truly, 

Daniel Webster. 

From Hon. Col. Phipps, H. B. M. Secretary. 

Windsor Castle, Eng., 1853. 

Dear Sir: 

The cage of Grey Shanghae fowls intended as a present 
from you to Her Majesty the Queen has this day been 
received from Mr. Mitchell, of the Zoological Gardens, and 
they have been highly admired by Her Majesty. 

I have received Her Majesty's commands to assure Mr. 
Burnham of her high appreciation of his attention ; and to 
add that it affords another addition to the many marks of 
good will from the citizens of the United States which the 
Queen has received, and to which Her Majesty attaches so 
high a value. I have the honor to be 

Your ob't and humble ser't, 

C. B. Phipps. 



THE HEN FEVER. 89 

Similar documents were often received by me, from 
friends and customers who knew how to appreciate good 
stock ; and I have now hundreds of letters on file, of the 
most flattering character, — from every State in the Union, 
from England, Ireland, France, Bavaria, etc., where my 
stock was sent, and was roundly paid for, — all of which 
letters (with their enclosures, from time to time) served 
amply to "balance accounts" against the few received of 
an opposite character, and aided materially, also, to keep 
" the subscriber " from caving in ! 

Among the most friendly customers I ever had, and those 
who bought the most liberally, — while they were the most 
kindly in all their intercourse with me, — I must mention 
my patrons of the South generally, but especially the buy- 
ers in New Orleans and its vicinity. I never met with a 
trickster amongst them, and they paid me thousands upon 
thousands of dollars, without a word of cavil or complaint, 
from first to last. These fanciers had long purses, and 
are live men, with hearts "as big as a barn," so far as 
my experience goes. 



CHAPTEK XIV. 

"bother'em pootrums." bubble number two. 

There was something tangible, and real, in the " Cochin- 
China " fowl, — something that could be seen and realized 
(precious little, to be sure !), but still there was something. 
The Cochin-China hens would lay egg3 (occasionally), and 
when they did n't breed their chickens with feathers upon 
the legs, they came without them. If the legs were not 
black or green skinned, they were either yellow or some 
other color. Their plumage was either spotted and speckled, 
or it was n't. And thus the true article, the ^we-bred 
Cochins, could always be designated and identified, — by 
the knowing ones, — I -presume. I studied them pretty 
carefully, however, for five year3 ; but I never knew what 
a u Cochin-China" fowl really was, yet ! 

But when, in 1850 and '51, the " Bother 'ems ■ " begun 
to be brought into notice, I saw at once that, although this 
was bubble number two, it ought to have been number one, 
decidedly. 

Never was a grosser hum promulgated than this was, 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 91 

from beginning to end, even in the notorious hum of the 
hen-trade. There was absolutely nothing whatever in it, 
about it, or connected with it, that possessed the first shade 
of substance to recommend it, saving its name. And this 
could not have saved it, but from the fact that nobody (not 
even the originator of the unpronounceable cognomen him- 
self) was ever able to write or spell it twice in the same 
manner. 

The variety of fowl itself was the Grey Chittagong, to 
which allusion has already been made, and the first samples 
of which I obtained from "Asa Rugg" (Dr. Kerr), of 
Philadelphia, in 1850. Of this no one now entertains a 
doubt. They were the identical fowl, all over, — size, 
plumage and characteristics. 

But my friend the Doctor wanted to put forth something 
that would take better than his " Plymouth Rocks ; " and 
so he consulted me as to a name for a brace of grey fowls 
I saw in his yard. I always objected to the multiplying of 
titles ; but he insisted, and finally entered them at our 
Fitchburg Depot Show as u BurrampootersJ' all the way 
from India. 

These three fowls were bred from Asa Rugg's Grey Chit- 
tagong cock, with a yellow Shanghae hen, in Plymouth, 
Mass. They were an evident cross, all three of them hav- 
ing a top-knot! But, nHmporte. They were then " Bur- 
rampooters." 



92 THE HISTORY OF 

Subsequently, these fowls came to be called " Buram- 
pootras," " Burram Putras," " Brama-pooters, " " Brah- 
mas," "Brama Puters," " Brama Poutras," and at last 
" Brahma Pootras." In the mean time, they were adver- 
tised to be exhibited at various fairs in diiferent parts of 
the country under the above changes of title, varied in cer- 
tain instances as follows : " Burma Porters," " Bahama 
Paduas," " Bohemia Prudas," " Bahama Pudras." And, 
for these three last named, prizes were actually offered at a 
Maryland fair, in 1851 ! 

The following capital sketch (which appeared originally 
in the Boston Carpet-Bag) is from the pen of the 
late Secretary of the Mutual Admiration Society, — a gen- 
tleman, and a very happy writer in his way. It gives a 
faithful and accurate description of what many of these 
monsters really were, and will be read with gusto by all 
who have now come to be " posted up " in the secrets of the 
hen-trade. 

The editor of the above-named journal remarks that " as 
our Carpet-Bag contains something connected with every- 
thing under the sun, we have abstracted therefrom a chap- 
ter on chicken-craft, which embraces a very important 
detail of that most abstruse science. When our readers 
scan the beautiful proportions of the stately fowl that roosts 
at the head of this article, they will acknowledge that we 
have some right to cackle because of the good fortune we 



THE HEN FEVER. 



93 



have had in securing such an une^sceptionable picture, 
exhibiting the very perfection of cockadoodledom. Isn't 
he a beauty, this Bother'em Pootrum? 



/Wll' A 




" Examine his altitude ! Observe the bold courage that 
stands forth in his every lineament ! There is no dunghill 
bravery there ! See what symmetry floats round every 
detail of his noble proportions ! What kingly grace asso- 
ciates with the comb that adorns his head as it were a crown ! 
What fire there is in his eye ! With what proud bearing 



94 THE HISTORY OF 

does he not wear his abbreviated posterior appendage ! 
Looking at the latter, we, and every one knowing in hen- 
craft, will readily exclaim, ' Gerenau de Montbeillard ! you 
must have been a most unmitigated muff to designate that 
beautiful fowl the gallus ecaudatus, or tailless rooster.' 
For ourselves, our indignity teaches us to say, £ Mons. M. ! 
your Essai sur Historie Nat. des Gallinacas Fran. torn, ii., 
pp. 550 et 656, is a humbug ! ' We know that the univer- 
sal world will sympathize in our sentiment on this point." 

Peter Snooks, Esq. (a correspondent of this journal), it 
appears, had the honor to be the fortunate possessor of this 
invaluable variety of fancy poultry, in its unadulterated 
purity of blood. He furnished from his own yard samples 
of this rare and desirable stock for His Royal Highness 
Prince Albert, and also sent samples to several other noted 
potentates, whose taste was acknowledged to be unquestion- 
able, including the King of Roratonga, the Rajah of Gabble- 
squash, His Majesty of the Cannibal Islands, and the Mos- 
quito King. Peter supplies the annexed description of the 
superior properties of this variety of fowls : 

" The Bother' em Pootrums are generally hatched from 
eggs. The original pair were not ; they were sent from 
India, by way of Nantucket, in a whale-ship. 

" They are a singularly pictur-squee fowl from the very 
shell. Imagine a crate-full of lean, plucked chickens, 
taking leg-bail for their liberty, and persevering around 



THE HEN FEVER. 95 

Faneuil Hall at the rate of five miles an hour, and you 
have an idea of their extremely ornamental appearance. 

" They are remarkable for producing bone, and as re- 
markable for producing offal. I have had one analyzed 
lately by a celebrated chemist, with the following result : 



Feathers and offal, 


. 39.00 


Bony substances, 


50.00 


Very tough muscle and sinew, 


. 09.00 


Miscellaneous residuum, 


02.00 



100.00" 

A peculiarly well-developed faculty in this extraordinary 
fine breed of domestic fowls is that of eating. " A toler- 
ably well-fed Bother' em will dispose of as much corn as a 

common horse," insists Mr. S . This goes beyond me; 

for I have found that they could be kept on the allowance, 
ordinarily, that I appropriated daily to the same number of 
good-sized store hogs. As to affording them all they would 
eat, I never did that. O, no ! I am pretty well off, pecu- 
niarily, but not rich enough to attempt any such fool-hardy 
experiment as that ! 

But Snooks is correct about one thing. They are not 
fastidious or "particular about what they eat." Whatever 
is portable to them is adapted to their taste for devouring. 
Old hats, India-rubbers, boots and shoes, or stray socks, are 



96 THE HISTORY OF 

not out-of-the-way fare with them. They are amazingly 
fond of corn, especially a good deal of it. They will eat 
wheaten bread, rather than want. 

They are very inquisitive in their nature. Their habit 
of stalking around the dwelling-house, and popping their 
heads into the garret- windows, is evidence of this peculiar 
trait. 

Their flesh is firm and compact, and requires a great deal 
of eating to do it justice. Like Barney Bradley's leather 
" O-no-we-never-mention-'ems," when cut up and stewed 
for tripe, " a fellow could eat a whole bushel of potatoes to 
the plateful." It is of the color of a stale red herring, and 
very much like that edible in taste. Its scarcity constitutes 
its value. 

This rara avis in terris grows to a height somewhere 
between .00 feet .16 inches and 25 feet. Its weight 
somewhat between .06 pounds and 1 cwt. It never 
lays, except when it rolls itself in the sand. The female 
fowls sometimes do that duty, though amazingly sel- 
dom. 

Mr. Snooks says he will back his Bother' em, for a chicken- 
feast, to outcrow any three asthmatical steam-whistles that 
any railroad company can scare up; and adds, "I am 
ashamed of the prejudice which makes my fellow-men 
unjust. The Fowl Society — the New England organiza- 
tion, I mean — repudiate the special merits of my Bother' em 



THE HEN FEVER. 97 

Pootrums, and tell me that their ideas of improvement go 
entirely contrary to the propriety of tolerating my noble 
breed of fowls. Disgustibus non disputandtim, as Shaks- 
peare, or somebody for him, emphatically says, — which 
means, ' Every one to his taste, as the old lady said when 
she kissed the cow.' One thing it will not be hard to 
prove, I think ; that is, simply the probability of some- 
thing like envy operating among the members of the Hen 
Society, on account of the exclusive attention paid my 
Bother' ems at the late Fowl Fairs in Boston," — where the 
'squire's contributions did rather " astonish the boys " who 
were not thoroughly acquainted with the excellent qualities 
of these birds. Verily, Snooks' " Bother' ems " did bother 
'em exceedingly ! 
9 



CHAPTER XV. 

ADVERTISING EXTRAORDINARY. 

From the outset of ray experience in the final attack of 
the hen fever, I took advantage of every possible opportu- 
nity to disseminate the now world-wide known fact that 
nobody else but myself possessed any " pure-bred " poul- 
try ! I could have proved this hy the affidavits of more 
than a thousand "disinterested witnesses," at any time 
after April and May, 1851, had I been called upon so to 
do. But as no one doubted this, there was then no con- 
troversy. 

But, as time wore' along, competition became rife, and 
the foremost chicken-raisers began to look about them for 
the readiest means obtainable with which to cut each other's 
throats ; not " with a feather," by any means, because that 
would have ''smelt of the shop ; " but whenever, wherever, 
or however, their neighbors could be traduced, maligned, 
vilified, or injured (in this pursuit), they embraced the 
opportunity, and followed .it up, without stint, especially 
towards my humble self, until most of them, fortunately, 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVES. 99 

broke their own backs, and were compelled to retire from 
the field , while " the people " grinned, and comforted them 
with the friendly assurance that it " sarved 'em right." 

At the Fitchburg Depot Show, in 1850, my original 
" Grey • Chittagongs " (already described) were in the pos- 
session of G. W. George, Esq., of Haverhill, to whom they 
had been sold bj the party to whom I had previously sold 
them. Nobody thought well of them ; but they took a 
first prize there, and the " Chittagongs " (so entered at the 
same time) of Mr. Hatch, of Connecticut, also took a prize. 
My friend the Doctor then insisted that these were also 
" Burrampooters ; " but, as nobody but himself could pro- 
nounce this jaw-cracking name, it was taken little notice of 
at that time. 

Mr. Hatch had a large quantity of the Greys at this 
show, which sold readily at $12 to $20 the pair; and 
immediately after this exhibition the demand for " Grey 
Chittagongs " was very active. I watched the current of 
the stream, and I beheld with earnest sympathy the now 
alarming symptoms of the fever. " The people " had suf- 
fered a relapse in the disease, and the ravages now promised 
to become frightful — for a time ! 

An ambitious sea-captain arrived at New York from 
Shanghae, bringing with him about a hundred China fowls, 
of all colors, grades, and proportions. Out of this lot I 
selected a few grey birds, that were very large, and (con- 



100 THE HISTORY OF 

sequently) " very fine," of course. I bred these, with other 
grey stock I had, at once, and soon had a fine lot of birds 
to dispose of — to which I gave what I have always deemed 
their only true and appropriate title (as they came from 
Shanghae), to wit, Grey Shanghaes. 

In 1851 and '52 I had a most excellent "run of luck" 
with these birds. I distributed them all over the country, 
and obtained very fair prices for .them ; and, finally, the 
idea occurred to me that a present of a few of the choicest 
of these birds to the Queen of England would n't prove a 
very bad advertisement for me in this line. I had already 
reaped the full benefit accruing from this sort of " disinter- 
ested generosity " on my part, toward certain American 
notables (whose letters have already been read in these 
pages), and I put my newly-conceived plan into execution 
forthwith. 

I then had on hand a fine lot of fowls, bred from my 
"imported" stock, which had been so much admired, and 
I selected from my best "Grey Shanghae" chickens nine 
beautiful birds. They were placed in a very handsome 
black-walnut-framed cage, and after having been duly 
lauded by several first-rate notices in the Boston and New 
York papers, they were duly shipped, through Edwards, 
Sanford & Co.'s Transatlantic Express, across the big pond, 
addressed in purple and gold as follows : 



THE HEN FEVER. 101 

TO H. M. G. MAJESTY, 

\ QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN. 

I To be Delivered at Zoological Gardens, 

i LONDON, ENG. 

| FROM GEO. P. BURNHAM, BOSTON, MASS., U. S. A. 

The fowls left me in December, 1852. The London 
Illustrated News of January 22d, 1853, contained the fol- 
lowing article in reference to this consignment : 

' ' By the last steamer from the United States, a cage of 
very choice domestic fowls was brought to Her Majesty 
Queen Victoria, a present from George P. Burnham, Esq., 
of Boston, Mass. The consignment embraced nine beauti- 
ful birds — two males and seven pullets, bred from stock 
imported by Mr. Burnhamtdirect from China. The fowls 
are seven and eight months old, but are of mammoth pro- 
portions and exquisite plumage — light silvery-grey bodies, 
approaching white, delicately traced and pencilled with 
black upon the neck-hackles and tips of the wings and 
tails. The parent stock of these extraordinary fowls weigh 
at maturity upwards of twenty-three pounds per pair; 
while their form, notwithstanding this great weight, is 
unexceptionable. They possess all the rotundity and 
beauty of the Dorking fowl ; and, at the same age, nearly 
double the weight of the latter. They are denominated 
Grey Shanghaes (in contradistinction to the Red or Yellow 
Shanghaes), and are considered in America the finest of 
all the great Chinese varieties. That they are a distinct 
race, is evident from the accuracy with which they 
9* 



102 THE HISTORY OE 

breed, and the very close similarity that is shown 
amongst them ; the whole of these birds being almost 
precisely alike, in form, plumage and general charac- 
teristics. They are said to be the most prolific of all the 
Chinese fowls. At the time of their shipment, these birds 
weighed about twenty pounds the pair." 

This was a very good beginning. In another place (see 
page 88) I have given a copy of the letter from Hon. Col. 
Phipps, her Majesty's Secretary of the Privy Purse, 
acknowledging the receipt of this present. A few weeks 
afterward, the London News contained a spirited original 
picture of seven of the nine Grey Shanghae fowls which I 
had the honor to forward to Queen Victoria. The draw- 
ing was made by permission of the Queen, at the royal 
poultry-house, from life, by the celebrated Weir, and the 
engraving was admirably executed by Smythe, of London. 
The effect in the picture was capital, and the likenesses 
very truthful. In reference to these birds, the News has 
the following : 

"Grey Shanghae Fowls for Her Majesty. — In the 
London Illustrated News for January 22d, we described a 
cage of very choice domestic fowls, bred from stock imported 
by Mr. George P. Burnham, of Boston, Mass., direct from 
China, and presented by him to Her Majesty. "We now 
engrave, by permission, these beautiful birds. They very 
closely resemble the breed of Cochin- Chinas already 
introduced into this country, the head and neck being the 
same ; the legs are yellow and feathered ; the carriage very 
similar, but the tail being more upright than in the gener- 



THE HEN FEVEK. 103 

ality of Cochins. The color is creamy white, slightly 
splashed with light straw-color, with the exception of the 
tail, which is black, and the hackles, which are pencilled 
with black. The egg is the same color and form as that of 
the Cochins hitherto naturalized in this country. These 
fowls are very good layers, and have been supplying the 
royal table since their reception at the poultry-house, at 
Windsor." 

All this "helped the cause along" amazingly. It 
proved a most excellent mode of advertising my " superb," 
"magnificent," "splendid," "unsurpassable," "inap- 
proachable" Gkey Shanghaes. 

The above articles found their way (somehow or other) 
into the papers of this country immediately ; and, within 
sixty days afterwards, the price of "Bother' ems" went 
up from $12 and $15 to $50, $75, $100, and $150, the 
pair ! ! 

" Cochin-Chinas " were now wowhar ! But I" was so as 
to be about yet. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

HEIGHT OF THE FEVER. 

While this cage of Grey Shanghaes stood for an hour 
or two in the express-office of Adams & Co., in Boston, a 
servant came from the Revere House to inform me that " a 
gentleman desired to see me there, about some poultry." 

As I never had had occasion to run round much after my 
customers, and, moreover, as I felt that the dignity of the 
business — (the dignity of the hen-trade !) — might possi- 
bly be compromised by my responding in person to this 
summons, I directed the servant to "say to the gentleman, 
if he wished to see me, that I should be at my office, No. 
26 "Washington-street, for a couple of hours, — after that, 
at my residence in Melrose." 

The man retired, and half an hour afterwards a car- 
riage stopped before my office-door. The gentleman was 
inside. He invited me to ride with him — (I could afford 
to ride with him) — to Adams & Co.'s office. He had seen 
the " Grey Shanghaes " intended for the Queen there. 

" I want that cage of fowls," he said. 



THE HISTORY OP THE HEN FEVER. 105 

" My dear sir," I replied, " they are going to England." 

" I want them. What will you take for them ? " 

" I can't sell them, sir." 

" You can send others, you know." 

" No, sir. I can't dispose of these, surely." 

" Can you duplicate this lot ? " 

" Pretty nearly — perhaps not quite." 

" I see," he continued. " I will give you two hundred 
dollars for them." 

" No, sir." 

" Three hundred — come ! " 

" I can't sell them." 

" Will you take four hundred dollars for the nine chick- 
ens, sir ? " he asked, drawing his pocket-book in presence 
of a dozen witnesses. 

I declined, of course. 1 couldn't sell these identical 
fowls ; for I had an object in view, in sending them abroad, 
which appeared to me of more consequence than the amount 
offered — a good deal. 

"Will you name a price for them?" insisted the 
stranger. 

I said, "No, sir — excuse me. I would not take a 
thousand dollars for these birds, I assure you. Their 
equals in quality and number do not live, I think, to-day, 
in America ! " 

" I won't give a — a — thousand dollars, for them," he 



106 THE HISTORY OF 

said, slowly. " No, I won't give that f " and we parted. 
Yet, I have no doubt, had I encouraged him with a prospect 
of his obtaining them at all, he would have given me a 
thousand dollars for that very cage of fowls ! To this 
extent did the hen fever rage at that moment. 

I subsequently sent this gentleman two trios of my grey 
chickens, for which he paid me $200. 

And now the Grey Shanghae trade commenced in ear- 
nest. Immediately after the announcements were made 
(which I have quoted) orders poured in upon me furiously 
from all quarters of this country, and from Great Britain. 
Not a steamer left America for England, for months and 
months, on board of which I did not send more or less of 
the "Grey Shanghaes." From every State in the Union, 
my orders were large and numerous ; and letters like the 
following were received by me almost every day, for months : 

" G. P. Buenham. 

" Sir : I have just seen the pair of superb Grey Shang- 
hae fowls which you sent to Mr. , of this city, 

and I want a pair like them. If you can send me better 
ones, I am willing to pay higher for them. He informs me 
that your price per pair is forty dollars. I enclose you 
fifty dollars ; do the best you can for me, but forward 
them at once, — don't delay. Yours, &c, 



THE HEN FEVER. 107 

t 

I almost always had " better ones." That was the kind 
I always kept behind, or for my own use. I rarely sent 
away these better ones until they cried for 'em ! I 
always had a great many of the " best " ones, too ; which 
were even better than those "better" ones for which the 
demand had come to be so great ! 

Strange to say, everybody got to want better ones, at 
last ; and, finally, I had none upon my premises but this 
very class of birds — to wit, the "better ones." To be 
sure, I reserved a very feio pairs of the best ones, which 
could be obtained at a fair price ; but these were the ones 
that would "take down" the fanciers, occasionally, who 
wanted to beat me w T ith them at the first show that came 
off. But I did n't sleep much over this business. I always 
had one cock and three or four hens that the boys did n't 
see — until we got upon the show-g*round. Ha, ha ! 

A stranger called at my house, one Sunday morning, 
just as I was ready with my family for church. He 
apologized for coming on that day, but could n't get away 
during the week. He had never seen the Grey Shang- 
haes — did n't know what a Chinese fowl was — had no 
idea about them at all. He wanted a few eggs — heard 
I had them — wouldn't stop but a moment — saw that 
I was just going out, &c. &c. He sat down — was sorry 
to trouble me — wouldn't do so again — would like just 
to take a peep at the fowls — when, suddenly, as he 



108 



THE HISTORY OF 







I DON'T WANT ANY EGGS NO!" (See page 100.) 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 109 

sat with his back close to the open window, my old crower 
sent forth one of those thundering, unearthly, rolling, gut- 
tural shrieks, that, once heard, can never be forgotten ! 

The stranger leaped from his chair, and sprang over his 
hat, as he yelled, 

"Good God! what's^?" 

His face was as white as his shirt-bosom. 

" That 's one of the Grey Shanghaes, crowing," I replied. 

" Crow ! I beg your pardon," he said; " I don't want 
any eggs — no ! I '11 leave it to another time. I — a — I 
could n't take 'em now ; won't detain you — good-morning, 
sir," he continued; and, rushing out of my front door, he 
disappeared on "a dead run," as fast as his legs could carry 
him. And I don't know but he is running yet. He was 
desperately alarmed, surely ! 

I was so amused at this incident, that I was in a precious 
poor mood to attend church that morning. And when my 
friend the minister arose at length, and announced for his 
text that "the wicked flee when no man pursueth," those 
words capped the climax for me. 

I jammed my handkerchief into my mouth, until I was 
nearly suffocated, as I thought of that wicked fellow who 
had just been so frightened while in the act of attempting 
to bargain for fancy hen's eggs on the Sabbath ! 

A Western paper, in alluding to the fever, about this 
period, observed that "this modern epidemic has shown 
10 



110 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 



itself in our vicinity within a short time, and is characterized 
by all the peculiarities which have marked its ravages else- 
where. Some of our most valuable citizens are now suffer- 
ing from its attacks, and there is no little anxiety felt for 
their recovery. The morning slumbers of our neighbors 
are interrupted by the sonorous and deep-toned notes of our 
Shanghae Chanticleer, and various have been the inquiries 
as to how he took ' cold' and what we gave him for it. 
' Chittagongs ' and ' Burma Porters ' are now as learnedly 
discussed as ' Fancy Stocks ' on change. 

The N. Y. Scientific American stated, at this time, that 
the " Cochin-China fowl fever was then as strong in Eng- 
land as in some parts of New England, — in fact, stronger. 
One pair exhibited there was valued at $700. What a 
sum for a hen and rooster ! The common price of a pair 
is $100," added this journal ; and still the trade continued 
excellent with me. 




CHAPTER XVII. 

RUNNING IT INTO THE GROUND. 

There now seemed to be no limit whatever to the prices 
that fanciers would pay for what were deemed the best sam- 
ples of fowls. For my own part, from the very commence- 
ment I had been considerate and merciful in my charges. 
True, I had been taken down handsomely by a Briton (in 
my original purchase of Cochin-Chinas), but I did not 
retaliate. I was content with a fair remuneration ; my 
object, principally, was to disseminate good stock among 
" the people," for I was a democrat, and loved the dear 
people. 

So I charged lightly for my "magnificent" samples, 
while other persons were selling second and third rate stock 
for five or even six and eight dollars a pair. The "Grey 
Shanghaes" had got to be. a "fixed fact" in England, as 
well as in this country, and still I was Hooded with orders 
continually. 

I obtained $25, $50, $100 a pair, for mine ; and one 
gentleman, who ordered four greys, soon after the Queen's 



112 THE HISTORY OF 

stock reached England, paid rne sixty guineas for them — 
$150 a pair. But these were of the better class of birds to 
which I have alluded. 

In 1852 a Boston agricultural journal stated that 
"within three months extra samples of two-year-old fowls, 
of the large Chinese varieties, have been sold in Massachu- 
setts at $100 the pair. Several pairs, within our own 
knowledge, have commanded $50 a pair, within the past 
six months. Last week we saw a trio of White Shanghaes 
sold in Boston for $45. And the best specimens of Shang- 
haes and Cochin-China fowls now bring $20 to $25 a pair, 
readily, to purchasers at the South and West." 

Now, these prices may be looked upon by the uninitiated 
as extraordinary. So they were for this country. But at 
a Birmingham (Eng.) show, in the fall of 1852, a single 
pair of " Seabright Bantams," very small and finely 
plumed, sold for $125; a fine "Cochin-China" cock and 
two hens, for $75: and a brace of "White Dorkings." at 
$40. An English breeder went to London, from over a 
hundred miles distant, for the sole purpose of procuring a 
setting of Black Spanish eggs, and paid one dollar for each 
egg. Another farmer there sent a long distance for the 
best Cochin-China eggs, and paid one dollar and fifty cents 
each for them, at this time ! 

This was keeping up the rates with a vengeance, and 
beat us Yankees, out and out. But later accounts from 



THE HEN FEVER. 113 

across the water showed that this was only a beginning, 
even. In the winter of 1852 the Cottage Gardener 
stated that "within the last few weeks a gentleman near 
London sold a pair of Cochin-China fowls for 30 guineas 
($150), and another pair for 32 guineas ($160). He has 
been offered <£20 for a single hen ; has sold numerous 
eggs at 1 guinea ($5) each, and has been paid down for 
chickens just hatched 12 guineas ($60) the half-dozen, to 
be delivered at a month old. One amateur alone had paid 
upwards of X100 for stock birds." 

To this paragraph in the Gardener the Bury and 
Norwich Post added the following : "In our own neigh- 
borhood, during the past week, we happen to know that a 
cock and two hens (Cochin-Chinas) have been sold for 32 
guineas, or $160. The fact is, choice birds, well bred, of 
good size and handsome plumage, are now bringing very 
high prices, everywhere ; and the demand (in our own 
experience) has never been so great as at the present 
time." 

In this way the fever raved and raged for a long year 
or more. Shows were being held all over this country, as 
well as in every principal city and town in England. 
Everybody bought fowls, and everybody had to pay for 
them, too, in 1852 and 1853 ! 

In a notice of one of the English shows in that year 
(1853), a paper says : " There is a pen of three geese 
10* 



114 THE HISTORY OF 

weighing forty-eight pounds ; and among the Cochin-China 
birds are to be found hens which, in the period that forms 
the usual boundary of chicken life, have attained a weight 
of seven or eight pounds. Of the value of these birds it is 
difficult to speak without calling forth expressions of incre- 
dulity. It is evident that there is a desperate mania in 
bird-fancying, as in other things. Thus, for example, there 
is a single fowl to which is affixed the enormous money 
value of 80 guineas ; two Cochin-China birds are estimated 
at 25 guineas ; and four other birds, of the same breed, a 
cock and three hens, are rated in the aggregate at 60 guin- 
eas, — a price which the owner confidently expects them to 
realize at the auction-sale on Thursday. A further illus- 
tration of this ornithological enthusiasm is to be found in 
the fact that, at a sale on Wednesday last, one hundred and 
two* lots, comprising one hundred and ten Cochin-China 
birds, all belonging to one lady, realized <£869. 4s. 6d. ; the 
highest price realized for a single one being 20 guineas." 

Another British journal stated, a short time previously, 
that "a circumstance occurred which proves that the Co- 
chin-China mania has by no means diminished in intensity. 
The last annual sale of the stock of Mr. Sturgeon, of Greys, 
has taken place at the Baker-street Bazaar. The two hun- 
dred birds there disposed of could not have realized a less 
sum than nearly .£700 (or $3500), some of the single 



THE HEN FEVER. 115 

specimens being knocked down at more than ,£12, and very 
many producing £4, £5, and £6 each." 

The attention, at this sale, devoted to the pedigree of the 
birds, was amusing to a mere observer ; one fowl would be 
described as a cockerel by Patriarch, another as a pullet 
by Jerri/, whilst a third was recommended as being the off- 
spring of Sam. Had the sale been one of horses, more care 
could hardly have been taken in describing their pedigrees 
or their qualifications. Many were praised by the auction- 
eer as being particularly clever birds, although in what 
their cleverness consisted did not appear. The fancy had 
evidently extended to all ranks in society. The peerage 
sent its representatives, who bought what they wanted, re- 
gardless of price. Nor was the lower house without its 
delegates ; a well-known metropolitan ex-member seems to 
have changed his constituency of voters for one of Cochins ; 
and we can only hope that it may not be his duty to hold 
an inquest on any that perish by a violent or unnatural 
death. The sums obtained for these birds depended on 
their being in strict accordance with the then taste of the 
fancy. They were magnificent in size, docile in behavior, 
intelligent in expression, and most of them were very finely 
bred. 

And while the hen fever was thus at its height, almost, in 
England, we were following close upon the footsteps of 
John Bull in the United States. At the Boston Fowl 



116 THE HISTORY OF 

Show in 1852, three Cochin-Chinas were sold at $100 ; 
a pair of Grey Chittagongs, at $ 50 ; two Canton Chinese 
fowls, at $80 ; three Grey Shanghae chicks, at $75 ; 
three White Shanghaes, at $65 ; six White Shanghae 
chickens, $40 to $45, etc. ; and these prices, for similar 
samples, could have been obtained again and again. 

At this time there was found an ambitious individual, 
occasionally, who got "ahead of his time," and whose laud- 
able efforts to oustrip his neighbors were only checked by 
the natural results of his own superior "progressive" 
notions. A case in point : 

"Way down in Lou'siana," for instance, a correspondent 
of mine stated that there lived one of these go-ahead fellows, 
who had been afflicted with a serious attack of hen fever, 
and who was not content with the ordinary speed and pro- 
lificness in breeding of the noted Shanghae fowls. He 
desired to possess himself of the biggest kind of a pile of 
chickens for the rapidly augmenting trade ; and so he had 
constructed an Incubator, of moderate dimensions, into 
which he carefully stowed only three hundred nice fresh 
eggs, from his fancy fowls. 

The secret of his plan to "astonish the boys" was lim- 
ited to the knowledge of only two or three friends ; and — 
thermometer in hand — he commenced operations. With 
close assiduity and Job-like patience, our amateur applied 
himself to his three weeks' task, by day and night, and at 



THE HEN FEVER. 117 

the end of fifteen days, one egg was broken, and Mr. 
Shanghae was thar, — alive and kicking, but as yet imma- 
ture. 

The neighborhood was in the greatest excitement at this 
prospect of success. Our friend commenced to crow 
(slightly), and, to hasten matters, put on a leetle more 
steam at a venture. The twenty-second day arrived, and 
the "boys" assembled to witness the entree of three hun- 
dred steam-hatched Shanghaes into this breathing world. 
Our amateur was full of expectation and "fever.'' One 
egg was broken ; another, and then another ; when, upon 
inspection, the entire mass was found to have been thor- 
oughly boiled ! 

A desperate guffaw was heard as our amateur friend dis- 
appeared, and his only query since has been to ascertain 
what actual time is required to boil a certain quantity of 
eggs at a given heat, and the smallest probable cost there- 
of ! As far as heard from, the reply has been, say six gal- 
lons of good alcohol, at one dollar per gallon, for three 
hundred eggs ; time (night and clay), twenty- two days and 
seven hours ; and the product it is generally thought would 
make capital fodder for young turkeys, — provided said eggs 
are not boiled too hard ! 

On the subject of the diseases of poultry many learned 
and sapient dissertations appeared about these days. In one 
agricultural journal we remember to have met with the fol- 



118 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

lowing scientific prescription. The learned writer is talking 
about roup in fowls, and says : 

" This is probably a chronic condition,, the result of fre- 
quent colds. Give the following medicines : Aconite, if 
there is fever, hepar-suliphuris third trituration, or mer- 
cury, third trituration, for a day or two, once in three or 
four hours ; then jpidsatilla tincture for the eyes ; antinio- 
nium, third trituration or arsenic, or mix vomica, for the 
crop." 

Is n't this clear, reader ? How many poultry- raisers in 
the United States are there who ayouM be likely to compre- 
hend one line of this stuff? We advise this writer to try 
again ; the above is an " elegant extract," verily ! 

We now come down to the fourth and last exhibition in 
Boston of the Mutual Admiration Society, alias the Asso- 
ciation with the long-winded cognomen, which took place in 
September, 1852. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

ONE OF THE FINAL KICKS. 

I was chosen by somebody (who will here permit me to 
present them my thanks for the honor) as one of the judges 
to decide upon the merits of the birds then to be exhibited : 
and my colleagues on this Committee were Dr. J. C. Ben- 
nett, and Messrs. Andrews, Balch and Fussell. 

On the morning of the opening of this show the names 
of the judges were first announced to the contributors. 
Immediately there followed a "hullabaloo" that would 
have done credit to any bedlam, ancient or modern, ever 
heard or dreamed of. The lead in this burst of rebellion 
amongst the hitherto " faithful " was taken by one promi- 
nent member, who announced publicly, then and there, that 
the selection of the judges was an infamous imposition. 
They were incompetent, dishonest, prejudiced, calculating, 
speculative, ambitious competitors. Moreover, that it had 
all been "contrived by that damned Burnham, who would 
rob a church-yard, or steal the cents off the eyes of his dead 
uncle, any time, for the price of a hen." 



120 THE HISTORY 0¥ 

These were the gentleman's own expressive words. He 
added that he could stand anything in the hen-trade but 
this. This, however, he would not submit to. Burnham 
should be kicked out of that Committee, or he would kick 
himself out of his boots, and the Society's traces also; — a 
threat which did not seem to alarm or disturb anybody, " as 
I knows on," except this same tall, stout, athletic, brave, 
honorable, honest, truthful, smart, gentlemanly member of 
this Mutual Admiration Society ! 

Now, it was very well known, at this time, that the Com- 
mittee of Judges had been chosen entirely without their own 
knowledge. So far as I was myself concerned, I should 
greatly have preferred at that time to have remained an out- 
sider, because it would have then been quite as well for me 
to have contributed to the exhibition, where, with the 
" splendid specimens " I then possessed of the Cochin- China 
and Shanghae varieties of fowl, I could have knocked all 
the others " higher than a fence " in that show, as I had 
done in all the previous exhibitions where I had ever com- 
peted with the boys. 

But the same power which had formed the Committee of 
Judges also provided that they must not be competitors. 
Thus, three or four of those persons who had at the pre- 
vious exhibitions of this Society been the most extensive 
contributors, — men who had bred by far the largest assort- 
ments and quantities of good fowls up to this period, and 



THE HEN FEVER. 121 

who had till now paid ten or twenty dollars for one 
(compared with any other of the members) toward the 
good of the association, and in the furtherance of its 
objects, — these men were made the judges, and were cut 
off as contributors. I was satisfied, however, because I 
saw that the framing of the Report of this show would 
fall to my lot again ; and I had no doubt that, under 
these circumstances, I could afford to be " persecuted " for 
the time being. 

It is not in my nature to harm anybody ; and those 
who are personally acquainted with me, know that I am 
constitutionally of a calm, retiring, meek, religious turn 
of mind. My aim in life is to " do unto others as I 
would have others do unto me." I " love my neighbor " 
(if he does n't permit his hens to get into my garden) 
"as myself." And, "if a man smite me upon one 
cheek, I turn to him the other also," immediately, if not 
sooner. I never retaliate upon an enemy or an opponent 
— until I make sure that I have him where the hair is 
short. 

I once knew of an extraordinary instance of patience 
that taught me a powerful lesson in submissiveness. It 
occurred in a "Western court, where the judge (a most ex- 
emplary man, I remember) sat for two mortal days quietly 
listening to the arguments of a couple of contending law- 
yers in reference to the construction they desired him to 
11 



# 

122 THE HISTORY OF 



assume in regard to a certain act of the Legislature of that 
State. When the two legal gentlemen had u thrown them- 
selves," in this long and wearying debate, for forty-eight 
hours, his Honor cut off the controversy by remarking, very 
quietly, 

" Gentlemen, this law that you have been speaking of 
has been repealed /" 

I thought of this circumstance, and I permitted the hen- 
men to gas, to their hearts' content. When they got through 
with their anathemas, their spleen, and their stupidity, I 
informed them that the " Committee " had unanimously left 
to my charge the writing of the Report of that Exhibi- 
tion. 

From that moment, up to the hour when the Report was 
published, I never suspected (before) that I had so many 
friends in this world ! 

The fear that seemed to pervade every mind present was, 
that I should probably do precisely what they would have 
done under similar circumstances, — to wit, take care of 
myself. 

I had no fowls in this exhibition ; but there were present 
numerous specimens bred from my stock, that were very 
choice (so every one said), and which commanded the 
highest prices during the show. 

There were several {Southern gentlemen present, who 
bought (and paid roundly for them, too) some of the best 



• THE HEN FEVER. 123 

fancy-birds on sale. It was astonishing how much some of 
those buyers did know about the different breeds of Chinese 
fowls there ! Yes, it certainly was astounding ! I think I 
never saw before so much real, downright bona fide knowl- 
edge of henology displayed as was shown by one or two 
Southern gentlemen, then and there ; — never, in the whole 
course of my experience ! 

By reference to the next chapter, it will be seen how 
shamefully I neglected my own interests, and how self-sacri- 
ficing I was in the report of the Society's last kick, which, 
as I have already hinted, the Committee left to my charge 
to prepare. 

I had no disposition (in the preparation of this document) 
to underrate the stock of any one else, provided it did not 
interfere with me ! And, after carefully noting down what- 
ever seemed of importance to my well-being there, I sat 
myself down to oblige the Committee by writing the " Re- 
port" Of this show, which an ill-natured competitor subse- 
quently declared was " only in favor of Burnham and his 
stock, all over, underneath, in the middle, outside, overhead, 
on top, on all sides, and at both ends ! " 

And I believe he was right ! 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE FOURTH FOWL-SHOW IN BOSTON. 

This show (in September, 1852) was the fifth exhibi- 
tion held in Boston, but the fourth only of the Society with 
the long name. 

The Report commences with a congratulation (as usual) 
that the association still lives, and has a being ; and, after 
alluding to the general state of the affairs of the concern, — 
without touching upon its financial condition, — it thus 
proceeds : 

"Your Committee would call your attention to the fact 
that among the numerous fowls exhibited this season, — as 
upon former occasions, — a very unnecessary practice seems 
to have obtained, in the mis-naming of varieties. Cross- 
bred fowls have been called by original cognomens, unknown 
to practical breeders ; and a host of birds Well known to the 
Committee, as well as to poulterers generally, have been 
denominated by any other than their real and universally 
conceded ornithological titles. This savors of bad taste ; it 
leads to ridicule among strangers who visit our shows from 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 125 ■ 

abroad ; and should not be sanctioned by your Society. 
Errors may creep in among your transactions, in this par- 
ticular, and many honest, careful breeders may be deceived ; 
but the multiplying of unpronounceable and meaningless 
names for domestic foAvls is entirely uncalled for ; and 
your committee recommend a close adherence, hereafter, to 
recognized titles only. 

" In this connection, it may be proper to allude to a case 
in point. The largest and unquestionably one of the finest 
varieties of domestic fowls ever shown among us was en- 
tered by the breeders of this variety as the ' Chittagong ; ' 
other coops of the same stock were labelled ' Grey Chitta- 
gongs ; ' others were called ' Bramah Pootras ; ' and others, 
' Grey Shanghae ' and ' Malays.' 

" Tour Committee are divided in opinion as to what these 
birds ought, rightfully, to be called, — though the majority 
of the Committee have no idea that ' Bramah Pootra ' is 
their correct title. That they are not 'Malays' is also 
quite as clear. Several of the specimens are positively 
known to have come direct from Shanghae ; and none are 
known to have come originally from anywhere else. 
Nevertheless, it has been thought proper to leave this 
question open, for the present ; and the Committee, believ- 
ing that this fowl originates in and hails directly from the 
East, are content to accept for them the title of ' Grey 
Shanghae,' 'Chittagong,' or 'Bramah Pootra,' as different 
11* 



126 THE HISTORY OF 

breeders may elect, — admitting, at the same time, that they 
are really a very superior bird, and believing that if care- 
fully bred they may be found decidedly the most valuable 
among all the large Chinese breeds, of which they are 
clearly a good variety." 

****** 

a A large sum of money was expended at this exhibition, 
by visitors, amateurs and breeders, — one gentleman invest- 
ing upwards of $700 in choice fowls ; another, from the 
South, purchasing to the amount of $350 for extra sam- 
ples ; another bought $200 worth, etc. The highest figures 
ever yet paid on this side of the Atlantic (for individual 
purchases) were realized at this show. 

" Samples of the China stock originally imported from 
Shanghae were very plentiful on this occasion, and the high 
reputation of this blood was fully sustained in the specimens 
exhibited. Very superior fowls, bred from G. P. Burn- 
ham's importations of Cochin-Chinas, were also numerous, 
and were sold, in four or five instances, at the very highest 
prices paid for any samples that were disposed of." 

Among the premiums awarded to the Chinese fowls by 
this "Committee," were the following: 

" China Fowls. — To H. H. Williams, best cock and 
two hens (of iBurnham's Canton importation), $5. To C. 
Sampson, West Roxbury, best cock and single hen (Burn- 
ham's Canton importation), $3. To H. H. Williams, 



THE HEN FEVER. 127 

third prize, for same stock, $2. To C. C. Plaisted, Great 
Falls, N. H., the Committee awarded ajirst prize, $5, for 
■what he called ' Hong-Kong ' fowls ; these were of Burn- 
ham's Canton stock, also. To A. White, E. Randolph, for 
six best chickens (Burnham's importation), $2. 

" Cochin-China. — To H. H. Williams, West Roxbury, 
best cock and two hens (splendid samples, of extraordinary 
size and beauty), first prize, $5. To A. White, E. Ran- 
dolph, best cock and single hen (of Burnham's importa- 
tion), $3. To A. White, for six best chickens (Burnham's 

importation), $2." 

****** 

The Committee then allude to the prices which were paid 
there for fowls, " not because they advocate the propriety 
of keeping them up" (0, no !), "but rather to show that 
the welfare of the Association is by no means derogating. 

"The three prize Cochin- China fowls were sold for 
$100. The two prize Grey Shanghaes, or ' Bramah Poo- 
tras,' were sold for $50. Three chickens of the same, at 
$50. A pair of Burnham's importation of Cochins, at $80 ; 
another pair, at $40 ; another trio (chickens), at $40. Six 
Black Spanish chickens (Child's), at $50. Six White 
Shanghae chickens (Wight's), at $45. Three hens, of 
same stock, at $50 — and several pairs and trios of other 
varieties, at from $25 each, to $25 and $30 to $40 the 

lot." 

****** 



128 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

At a subsequent meeting of the Trustees, Mr. George P. 
Burnharn, on the part of the Judges at the Late exhibition 
of the Society, presented their Report, whereupon it was 

"Voted, That the Report of the Judges on the recent 
show of poultry in the Public Garden be accepted." 

And this was the end of that ball of worsted ! I rather 
have the impression, now, — as nearly as I can recollect 
(though my memory is somewhat treacherous in these 
matters), but I think I sold a few fowls, just after that 
fair. " I may be mistaken, — but that is my opinion ! " 

The Heport was duly accepted, in form, and I had the 
satisfaction of seeing my " extraordinary " and " superb " 
stock again lauded to the very echo, at the expense of the 
old-fogyism of the "Mutual Admiration Society." 

The consequence was a renewed activity in my sales, 
which continued delightfully lively and correspondingly 
remunerative for several months after this exhibition, also, 
where I did not enter the first fowl ! 



CHAPTER XX. 

PRESENT TO QUEEN VICTORIA. 

I have already alluded to the fine Grey Shanghaes 
•which I forwarded to Her Majesty the Queen. In relation 
to this circumstance the Boston papers contained the fol- 
lowing announcement, in the month of April, 1853 ; a cir- 
cumstance which did not greatly retard the prospects of my 
business either on this or on the other side of the water ! 
The compliment thus paid me by Eoyalty was duly appre- 
ciated, and its delicacy will be apparent to the reader. This 
pictufe is the only one of its kind ever sent to an American 
citizen. 

"A Compliment from Victoria. — Some weeks ago, 
Mr. George P. Burnham, of Boston, forwarded to Her 
Majesty Queen Victoria a present of some Grey Shang- 
hae fowls, which have been greatly admired in England. 
By the last steamer Mr. Burnham received the following 
letter from Her Majesty's Secretary of the Privy Purse, 
accompanying a fine portrait of the Queen, sent over to 
Mr. B. : 



130 THE HISTORY OF 

The Queen's Letter. 

( §4aAX 15, 1^53. . 

" ^SDeoi.'o cTiA, : Q) acute tecem-ec) tae commcuvcK> op OXDe,% fewateitij 
live 4s£>U/eeaj to a/i-5nAe wou/ of- «7\Bet ©'(ifccue.&tu, 6 ruaa afvh/leciationi 
LoV toe kina naotm-e6 iwucli kilo-mjiteo iiow to to-Uu-aAo pet act aecekt- 
cuiee trie ivuxq atuceat ' ^/Veu, Orumqaae toii>L6 u>ai.ca Ficuie been 
ixj ntuicii oujiwko at CMSeV GylilDcue&tu/ 6 cuiujAU/ ctt ^Ia^ ww6o-V. 

" CJvSeV E'l'Waxe.iiii/ aa,i accekteo, u>itlv qAeat hleci/6-uAe, ittca a 
tTLO/Vk oj- tei-k-cci ana ^eaaAo, UVom. co citisea ot tlie. UbaLteo <L7tate6. 

" q) actufij [ki, CMSe^, i3'(j(Pcu*6lu/ 6 commanfl, mUijteo in. tae 
' ^2-eotqe HcaVL, to iioui. ctacne6-S 5 a caJe coatcumaa/ a. k-oitA-cut o£ 
CMSe^ 6^'Upcue6iu , " ou u>Juca tae ^^ueea- ii-oi aiAecteo ine to\teecuie&t 
ueu/V accehtctace. 

" Q) acu>-e the ko-ao4 to [>e, 

" Utt, iioiii^ ol> t cuu) luunu-Le Aeitwmi, 

"So <f eo. ^P. 'S8«A«£«n, J gty, 

* See Frontispiece. 



THE HEN FEVER. 131 

I caused a copy to be taken from this portrait of the 
Queen, and have had it engraved for this book ; it appears 
as the frontispiece. 

Immediately after this paragraph appeared, a new zest 
appeared to have been given to the Grey Shanghae trade. 
Orders came from Canada and from Nova Scotia to a very 
considerable amount ; and during this season my sales were 
again very large. During the year 1853, I started and 
raised over sixteen hundred chickens of all kinds ; but this 
did not supply my orders. I bought largely, and paid high 
prices, too, generally. But few persons were now doing 
any business in the fowl-trade, except myself, however. 

The N. Y. Spirit of the Times published portraits of 
the birds sent to the Queen, and remarked that " the en- 
graving represented six of the nine beautiful Grey Shang- 
hae fowls lately presented to Her Majesty Victoria, Queen 
of Great Britain, by George P. Burnham, Esq., of Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

" These birds were forwarded by one of the last month's 
Collins steamers, in charge of Adams & Co.'s Express, 
and passed through this city on the 24th ult. Their extraor- 
dinary size and fine plumage were the admiration of all 
who examined them. The picture is from life, engraved by 
Brown, and is a faithful representation of the birds, which 
are very closely bred. 

" The color of this variety of the China fowl is a light 



132 THE HISTORY OF 

silver-grey, approximating to white ; the body is a light 
downy white, sparsely spotted and pencilled with metallic 
black in the tail and wing tips ; the legs are feathered to 
the toes, and the form is unexceptionable for a large fowl ; 
this variety having proved the biggest of all the ' Shang- 
haes ' yet imported into this State. 

" The two cocks above delineated weighed between ten 
and eleven pounds each at six months old ; the pullets drew 
seven and a half to nine pounds each at seven to eight 
months old; the original imported pair of old ones now 
weigh upwards of twenty-three pounds, together. In the 
existing rage for weighty birds, this variety will naturally 
satisfy the ambition of those who go for the ' biggest kind ' 
of fowls ! 

" The group represents this variety with accuracy, and 
are, without doubt, for their kind, rare specimens of the 
genuine gallus giganteus of modern ornithologists. As 
Her Majesty has long been known among the foremost 
patrons of that agreeable branch of rural pursuits, poul- 
try-raising, we do not doubt but that this splendid present 
from Mr. Burnham will prove highly gratifying to her 
tastes in this particular." 

Portraits of these fowls appeared in Gleason : s Pictorial 
for January, 1853, and the editor spoke as follows of them : 

" The Grey Shanghae Fowls lately presented to Her 
Majesty Queen Victoria, of Great Britain, by George P. 



THE HEN FEVER. 188 

Burnham, Esq., of Boston, were extraordinary specimens 
of domestic poultry, and were bred the past season by Mr. 
Burnham from stock imported by him direct from China. 
They were universally admitted, by the thousands who saw 
them before they left, to be the largest and choicest-bred lot 
of chickens ever seen together in this vicinity. These fowls 
were from the same broods as those lately sent to Northby, 
of -Aldborough, by Mr. Burnham, who is, perhaps, the 
most successful poultry-raiser in America ; and while these 
beautiful birds are creditable to him as a breeder, they are 
a present really 'fit for a queen.' " 

The New York journals alluded to them in flattering 
terms, during their transit through that city on the way to 
their destination ; and the numerous orders that crowded in 
upon me was the best evidence of the estimation in which 
this variety of domestic fowls was then held, as well as of 
the determined disposition of {i the people " to be supplied 
from my li pure-hred stock." 

By one of the British steamers, in the summer of 1853, 
the express of Edwards, Sanford & Co., took out to Europe 
from my stock, for Messrs. Bakers, of Chelsea, Baily, of 
London. Floyd, of HuddersSeld, Beming, of Brighton, 
Simons, of Birmingham, and Miss Watts, Hampstead, six 
cages of these "extraordinary" birds. The best of the 
hens weighed nine to nine and a half pounds each, and 
three of the cocks drew over twelve pounds each ! There 
12 



134 THE HISTORY OF 

were forty-two birds in all, which, together, could not be 
equalled, probably, at that time, in America or England, 
for size, beauty and uniformity of color. The sum paid me 
for this lot of Greys was eight hundred and seventy dol- 
lars, 

Of the three fowls sent to Mr. John Baily (above men- 
tioned), and which he exhibited in the fall of that year in 
England, the following account reached me, subsequently : 
,. "Mr. Geo. P. Burnham, of Melrose, sent out to Eng- 
land, last fall, to Mr. John Baily, of London, a cage of his 
fine l Grey Shanghaes,' which were exhibited at the late 
Birmingham Show. The London Field of Dec. 24th 
says that ' one pair of these fowls, from Mr. Burnham, of 
the United States, the property of Mr. Baily, of Mount- 
street, were shown among the extra stock, and were pur- 
chased from him, during the exhibition, by Mr. Taylor, of 
Shepherd's Bush, at one hundred guineas' ($500) ! " 

This was the biggest figure ever paid for two fowls, I 
imagine ! Mr. Baily paid me twenty pounds sterling for 
the trio, and I thought that fair pay, I remember. The 
following brief account of my trade for the year of our 
Lord 1853, I published on the last day of December of that 
year, for the gratification of my numerous friends, and for 
the information of ' : the people " who felt an interest in 
this still exciting and (to me) very agreeable subject : 



THE HEN FEVER. 185 

"Eds. Boston Daily Times: In a late number of 
your journal you were pleased to allude to the sales of 
live-stock made by me latterly. At the close of the pres- 
ent year, I find upon my books the following aggregate of 
sales for 1853, which — to show how much has been done 
by one dealer — may be interesting to some of your readers 
who ' love pigs and chickens.' 

V I have sent into the Southern and Western States, 
through Adams & Co.'s Express alone, from Jan. 1st to 
Dec. 27th, 1853, a little rising $17,000 worth of Chinese 
fowls and fancy pigs. By Edwards, Sanford & Co.'s Trans- 
atlantic Express, in the same period, I have sent to Eng- 
land and the continent about $2000 worth of my ' Grey 
Shanghaes.' By Thompson and Co. and the American 
Western Express Co., I have sent west and south-west, in 
the same time, over $1200 worth ; and my minor cash sales 
(directly at my yards in Melrose) have been over $1000; 
making the entire sales from my establishment for the past 
year nearly or quite twenty-tioo thousand dollars in value. 
Of this amount, $7300 worth has been sold since the 10th 
of Sept. last. 

' ' By the first steamer that leaves New York in January, 
'54, I shall send to New Orleans (to a single customer) 
between five and six hundred dollars' worth, ordered a few 
days since. I have also now in hand three large orders to 
fill for Liverpool and London, immediately ; and the present 



186 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

prospect is that the poultry-trade will be considerably better 
next year than we have ever yet known it in New England. 
Wishing you and my competitors in the trade a " Happy 
New Year,' I am theirs and yours, truly, 

" Geo. P. Burnham. 

" Melrose, Bee. 80, 1853." 

I have offered these statistics and facts to give some idea 
of the amount of trade that must have been current, in the 
aggregate^ when these isolated instances are considered, 
and for the purpose of affording the reader an opportunity 
to judge measurably to what an extent this fever really 
raged. 

Thousands and tens of thousands of " the people" were 
now (or had been) engaged in this extraordinary excite- 
ment, who were continuously humbugging themselves and 
each other, at round cost. And when these thousands are 
multiplied by the fives or tens, twenties or fifties, one hun- 
dreds or five hundreds of dollars, that they invested in this 
mania, the "prime cost" of this hum can be fancied, 
though it can never be known with accuracy. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

EXPERIMENTS OF AMATEURS. 

The newspapers of the day were now occupied with 
speculative and actual statistics, of various kinds, relating 
to the utility and value of poultry and its produce, and 
every one seemed to join, in his or her way, to magnify the 
vastness of this enterprise ; and statements like the follow- 
ing, in respectable public journals, had the effect to increase 
and keep up to fever-heat the state of the hen malady : 

" By reference to the agricultural statistics of the United 
States, published from reliable sources in 1850, it may be 
seen that the actual value of poultry, in New York State 
alone, was two millions three hundred and seventy-three 
thousand and twenty-nine dollars ! Which was more than 
the value of all the swine in the same state ; nearly equal 
to one half the value of its sheep, the entire value of its 
neat cattle, and nearly five times the value of its horses 
and mules I " 

The amount of sales of live and dead poultry in Quincy 
Market, Boston, for the year 1848, said another paper, was 
12* 



138 THE HISTORY OF 

six hundred seventy-four thousand four hundred and 
twenty-three dollars : the average sales of one dealer alone 
amounting to twelve hundred dollars per week for the 
whole year. The amount of sales for the whole city of 
Boston, for the same year, was over one million of dollars. 
The amount of sales of eggs in and around the Quincy 
Market for 1848 was one million one hundred and twenty- 
nine thousand seven hundred and thirty-five dozen, which, 
at eighteen cents per dozen, makes the amount paid for eggs 
to be two hundred three thousand three hundred and fifty- 
two dollars and thirty cents ; while the amount of sales of 
eggs for the whole city of Boston, for the same year, was a 
fraction short of one million of dollars ; the daily consump- 
tion of eggs at one of its hotels being seventy-five dozen 
daily, and on Saturday one hundred and fifty dozen. 

At this time, a single dealer in the egg -trade, at Phila- 
delphia, sent to the New York market, daily, one hundred 
barrels of eggs ; while the value of eggs shipped from Dub- 
lin to Liverpool and London was more than five millions 
of dollars for the year 1848. 

In addition to these facts, frequent allusions were made to 
the enormous quantities required for other markets, in the 
interior, to supply which the number of laying hens must be 
kept good, and increased, as the demand for the eggs was 
constantly augmenting, and the business, " if skilfully and 



THE HEN FEVER. 189 

judiciously managed " (said the agricultural papers), must 
prove immensely profitable to those who engage in it. 

If " skilfully and judiciously managed " i This was good 
advice. But no one could inform " the people " how this 
management was to be effected. In the mean time, every 
sort of experiment was resorted to. by amateurs and fan- 
ciers and humbugs (who had been humbugged), to u im- 
prove " the breeds of poultry, and to produce new fowls 
that would lay two or three or four eggs for one, as com- 
pared with the old-fashioned birds. 

We knew one beginner who had purchased a pretty little 
place a few miles from the city, who contracted the fever, 
and " suffered" badly, but who was cured by the following 
curious result of his early experiments. Eggs were scarce 
(genuine ones), and, after considerable searching, he finally 
procured of some one in Boston a clutch of " fancy " eggs, 
for which he paid big figures, but which did not turn out 
exactly what he anticipated ; and so he concluded, after a 
time, that the hen fever was a rascally hum. (He did n't 
procure these eggs of me, be it understood, /never had 
any but genuine ones !) 

He purchased what he was assured were pure ' ' Cochin- 
China" eggs. (Perhaps they were — who knows?) And 
after waiting patiently for six long weeks for the " curious " 
eggs to hatch, he found six young ducks in his coop, one 
morning ! — So much for his knowledge of eggs ! 



140 THE HISTOKY OF 

But this was not so bad as was the case of one of his 
neighbors, however, who paid a round price for half a dozen 
choice eggs, queer-looking speckled eggs — small, round, 
"outlandish " eggs — which he felt certain would produce 
rare chicks, and which he was very cautious in setting 
under his very best hen. 

At the end of a few days he was startled, at the break- 
fast-table, to hear his favorite hen screaming ' ! bloody mur- 
der " from within the coop ! He rushed to the rescue, 
raised -the box-lid, and found her still on the nest, but in a 
frightful perturbation — struggling, yelling and cackling, 
most vociferously. 

He spoke to her kindly and softly ; he would fain 
appease and quiet her ; for there Avas great danger lest, in 
her excitement and struggles, she would destroy the favorite 
eggs — those rare eggs, which had cost him so much money 
and trouble. But soft words were vain. His "best" 
hen continued to scream lustily, and he raised her from the 
nest to look into the cause of the trouble more critically. 
His astonishment was instantaneous, but immense ; and his 
surprise found vent in the brief but expressive exclamation, 
" Turkles — by thunder ! " 

Such was the fact. This poor, innocent poultry- 
" fancier " was the victim of misplaced confidence. The 
party who sold him them eggs had sold the buyer shock- 
ingly ! And instead of a brood of pure Cochin-Chinas, 



THE HEN FEVEK. 141 

he found that his favorite hen had hatched half a dozen pure 
mud-turtles, all of ■which, upon breaking from the shells, 
seized upon the flesh of the poor fowl, and had well-nigh 
taken her life before they could be " choked off." He 
has given up the chicken-trade, and has since gone into the 
dwarf-pear business. Poor devil ! 

A youthful lawyer of my acquaintance, away Down East, 
who was proverbial for his "sharp practice " at the bar, 
met with a young doctor, who was a great bird-fancier, 
and with whom he subsequently formed an intimate 
acquaintance. Our medicinal friend owned a pretty little 

estate, distant a few miles from the city of P , where 

he kept up a very neat establishment, which was thoroughly 
appointed. Among his out-of-door appurtenances, he 
maintained a modern bee-house, a choice dove-cot, and a 
well-selected aviary ; in the latter he had some choice poul- 
try, and into this the doctor invited his legal associate, one 
day, to examine his specimens of cacklers and crowers. 

There was a super-excellent "Bother'em" fowl among 
this collection, — a rare hen, the many good qualities of 
which the doctor dilated on (as he always did before hi3 
visitors), and the lawyer took a fancy to the beauty, instan- 
ter; but this fowl was a great favorite, and the doctor 
would neither sell, lend, or give her away ; and then the 
visitor begged some of her eggs, as a last favor. But the 
doctor was selfish in regard to this particular bird — he 



142 THE HISTORY OP 

wanted the breed exclusively to himself. It was of no 
avail, however, and his friend promised to embrace the first 
opportunity to steal the hen, and all the eggs he could find, 
if his request were not complied with ; whereupon the doc- 
tor at length reluctantly promised to send him a dozen 
within a week, provided he said nothing about it. He 
would do it for him, as a particular favor — and so he 
was as good as his word. 

The young lawyer had his poultry-yard, also ; and, select- 
ing a fine hen, he quickly set her upon the choice Bother' em 
eggs, resolved to have as good a show as his neighbor. But 
three weeks passed — four, and upwards — but no chickens 
appeared ! He broke up the nest, at last, and then called 
upon the doctor at once. 

"What luck, Tom?" 

" Not a chick ! " 

"No!" 

" Not a one. The eggs were n't good." 

"No? That is queer," continued the doctor, "when I 
took so much extra pains with 'em." 

" Extra pains — how ? " 

"Why, I boiled every one of 'em, the last thing before 
I sent 'em down to you ! " 

And so he did. Tom grinned, squirmed, and went home, 
— but that was n't the last of this joke. 

Six months afterwards, the keen-witted doctor visited the 



THE HEN FEVER. 143 

lawyer's little place, where lie saw a magnificent large 
Bucks County rooster stalking about in the latter' s yard. 

" By Jove, Tom! That 's a rouser," exclaimed the doc- 
tor, enthusiastically, " 'pon my word ! Where d' you get 
him? " 

"Pennsylvania — Buxton's; a fine fellow that. Only 
eight months old." 

" Will you sell him? " 

" Yes — no ; I reckon not, on the whole." 

" I '11 give you an X for him." 

"Well, take him. He 's worth twenty dollars; but you 
shall have him for ten dollars, being an old friend." 

The doctor placed the huge crower in his gig immedi- 
ately, went home, killed off two of the finest Dorking 
roosters in the county, and put the new comer into his nice 
poultry -house ; congratulating himself upon having at last 
secured a "tip-top breeder," and nothing else. 

At the end of the season, however, he complained to his 
friend the lawyer that he had had but very few eggs lat- 
terly ; he could raise no chickens from them — not a one ; 
and he did n't think much of the ten-dollar bird he pur- 
chased of him, any way. 

"He's a rouser, Bill, surely," said the lawyer, with a 
knowing smirk, repeating the doctor's exclamation on first 
beholding the roosfer. 

"Well, yes — large, large — but — " 



144 THE HISTORY OF 

"And a finer capon I never sold to anybody in my 
life ! " 

" A what ! " screamed the doctor, springing towards his 
horse, -which stood near hj. 

"What's the price of Viled, eggs, Bill?" roared the 
lawyer, in reply. 

"Ten dollars a dozen, hj thunder ! " was the answer, as 
the doctor drove his rowels into the sides of his nag, and 
dashed away from his friend's gate a wiser if not a better 
man. 

Many amateur poultry-raisers resorted to the most 
ridiculous and injurious shifts for remedies against the ills 
that hen-flesh is heir to. I have known certain friends who 
passed two or three hours every morning in running about 
their fowl-premises with pill-box and pepper-cup in hand, 
zealously dosing their drooping chickens, to their certain 
destruction. And some of the " doctors" went into jalap, 
in cases of colds, fevers, &c, in their fowls. We should as 
soon think of using arsenic, or any other poison, under such 
circumstances. The internal formation of a hen is scarcely 
believed to resemble that of a human being, surely ; and 
why such medicinal applications, pray? This reminds us 
of a private joke, by the way, that was "let out" by a 
young fancier (out West) a little while ago. 

He had a bad cold himself, and had mixed "summat 
hot" to swallow, one evening. His servant informed him 



THE HEN FEVER. 145 

that his favorite Cochin-China crower had been ill for a 
day or two ; and he ordered twenty grains of jalap to be pre- 
pared for his fine bird. By some mistake his toddy was 
given to the crower, and he swallowed the hen-medicine 
himself, and retired to bed. 

He slept soundly for a time, but was visited with shock- 
ing dreams. He fancied himself to be a huge rooster — one 
of the biggest kind ; that he had taken all the premiums at 
all the shows, and that he had finally been set to hatch 
over a bushel of Shanghae eggs. It was the twentieth day, 
at last, and the chickens commenced to come forth from 
their shells beneath him. He dare not move, — his fowl- 
cure was at work, — and his critical position, for the time 
being, can be better imagined than portrayed. With a des- 
perate effort, and a shrieking crow, he at length sprang from 
his couch, dashed out of doors, and, since the day after- 
wards, has resolved to eschew the use of jalap among his 
poultry, — a determination which, in all candor, we recom- 
mend earnestly to the hen-Galens who imagine that a hen 
is " a human." 

It had now become an every-day occurrence to hear of 
black chickens emerging from what were "warranted" 
pure white fowls' eggs ; top-knot birds peeped forth from 
the eggs of pure-bred anti-crested hens ; and all colors and 
shapes and varieties of chickens, except those that they 
13 



146 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 



were purchased for, made their appearance about the time 
of hatching the eggs so bought. 

All the old-fashioned fowls were utterly discarded. Co- 
chin-Chinaism, Shanghaeism, Bother'em Pootrumism, was 
rampant. The fancy egg-trade had begun to fall off sen- 
sibly. " The people " had had enough of this part of the 
enterprise, which was destined to prove so " immensely 
profitable," if "judiciously and skilfully managed;" and 
the price was reduced to the miserable sum of three to five 
dollars a dozen, only, as customers chanced to turn up. 

From the commencement of the trade, in 1849, down to 
the month of August, 1853, I had a continued and certain 
sale, however, for every egg deposited upon my premises, 
at my price. 

Eut this, though an exception, was not to be wondered 
at. / kept and raised only the " genuine " article. 




CHAPTER XXII. 

TRUE HISTORY OF "FANNY FERN." 

I was riding through Brookline, Mass., one fine after- 
noon, on my round-about way home from a fowl-hunting 
excursion in Norfolk County, when my attention was sud- 
denly attracted by the appearance and carriage of the most 
extraordinary-looking bird I ever met with in the whole 
course of my poultry experience. 

I drew up my horse, and watched this curiosity for a few 
minutes, with a fowl-admirer's wonder. It was evidently a 
hen, though the variety was new to me, and its deportment 
was very remarkable. Her plumage was a shiny coal- 
black, and she loitered upon a bright-green bank in the 
sunshine, at the southerly side of a pretty house that stood 
a few yards back from the road. She was rather long- 
legged, and " spindle-shanked," but she moved about skip- 
pingly and briskly, as if she were treading upon thin egg- 
shells. Her feet were very delicate and very narrow, and 
her body was thin and trim ; but her plumage — that glossy, 
jet-black, brilliant feathery habit — was " too much " for my 



148 THE HISTORY OF 

then excited " fancy " for beautiful birds ; and I thought I 
had never seen a tip-top fowl before. 

As I gazed and wondered, this bird observed me coquet- 
tishly, and, raising herself slightly a tip-toe, she flapped her 
bright wings ludicrously, opened her pretty mouth, and sent 
forth a crow so clear and sharp, and so utterly defiant and 
plucky, that I laughed outright in her face. I did. I 
couldn't help it. 

She noticed my merriment, and instantly flap went those 
glittering wings again, and another shout — a -very shriek 
of a crow, a termagant yell of a crow — rang forth pierc- 
ingly from the lungs of my sable but beautiful inamorata. 

This second crow was full of fire, and daring, and chal- 
lenge, and percussion. It seemed to say, as plainly as words 
could have uttered it, ' ' Who are you ? What you after ? 
Would n't you like to cage me up — s-a-y ? " 

I laughed again, wondered more, stared, and shouted 
" Bravo ! Milady, you are a rum 'un, to be sure ! " And 
again she hopped up and crowed bravely, sharply, mali- 
ciously, wildly, marvellously. 

I was puzzled. I had heard of such animals before. I 
had read in the newspapers about Woman's Eights con- 
ventions. I had seen it stated that hens occasionally were 
found that "crowed like a cock." But I had never seen 
one before. This was an extraordinary bird, evidently. 

There it went again ! That same shrill, crashing, chal- 



THE HEN FEVER. 149 

lenging crow, from the gullet of the ebon beauty before 
me. 0, what a crow was that, my countrymen ! I re- 
solved to possess this bird, at any cost. And I was soon in 
communication with the gentleman who then had her. 

" Is this your hen, sir ? " I inquired. And I think the 
gentleman suspected me, instanter. 

" Yes," he answered. " That is, I support her," 

" Will you sell her ? " 

" No — no, sir." 

" I will give you ten dollars for her." 

Crack ! Crash ! Whew ! went that crow, again. I 
was electrified. 

" I '11 give you fifteen " 

"No, sir." 

"Twenty dollars, then." 

"No." 

" What will you take for her ? " 

" Hark ! " he replied. " Is n't that music ? Is n't that 
heavenly? " 

" What is that? " I asked, eagerly. 

" My hen." 

" What is she doing? " 

" Singing," said the gentleman. 

" Beautiful ! ' ; I responded. "I will give you forty dol- 
lars for her." 

" Take her." replied her keeper. " She is yours." 
13* 



150 THE HISTORY OF 

" What breed is it?" I inquired. 

"Spanker," said the gentleman, "but rare. It is one 
of Ellett's importation — genuine." 

" Remarkable pullet ! " I ventured. 

"Hen, sir, hen" insisted the stranger. 

I paid him forty dollars down, and seized my prize, 
though she proved hard to catch. 

" She 's much like the Frenchman's flea, sir," said her 
previous possessor. "Put your finger on her, and she's 
never there. Feed her well, however, keep her in good 
quarters, let her do as she pleases, and she '11 always crow 
— always, sir. Hear that ? You can't stop her, unless 
you stop her breath. She always crows and sings. There 
it is again ! Isn't that a crow, for a hen — eh ? " 

It was, indeed. 

" Good-day," said the Brookline gentleman, quietly 
pocketing his money. " Fanny will please you, I've no 
doubt." 

"Fanny?" I queried. 

" Yes ; I call her ' Fanny Fern," 1 " said the stranger to 
me, as I entered my wagon ; and, half an hour afterwards, 
my forty-dollar cock-hen, "Fanny Fern," was crowing 
again furiously, lustily, magnificently, on the bright-green 
lawn beneath my own parlor-windows. 

" Fanny " proved a thorough trump. Bantams, Games, 
Cochins, Dorkings, Shanghaes, Bother' ems, were nowhere 



THE HEN FEVER. 151 

■when " Fanny " was round. She could outcrow the lustiest 
feathered orchestra ever collected together in Christendom. 
She was a wonder, that redoubtable but frisky, flashy, 
sprightly, sputtery, spunky " Fanny Fern." 

And didn't the boys run after her? Well, they did ! 
And did n't they want to buy her ? Did n't they bid high 
for her, at last ? Did n't everybody flock to see her, and to 
hear " Fanny " crow ? And did lit she continue to crow, 
too ? Ah ! it was heaven, indeed (and sometimes the other 
thing), to listen to " Fanny's " voice. 

When " Fanny " opened her mouth, everybody held their 
breath and listened. "Fanny" crowed to some purpose, 
verily! She crowed lustily against oppression, and vice, 
and wrong, and injustice; and she crowed aloud (with her best 
strength) in behalf of injured innocence, and virtue, and 
merit, exalted or humble. 

And, finally, "Fanny" hatched a brace of chickens; 
and didn't she crow for and over them? She now cackled 
and scratched, and crowed harder and louder and shriller 
than ever. The people stopped in the street to listen to her ; 
old men heard her ; young men sought after her ; all the 
women began to " swear " by her; the children thronged to 
see her ; the newspapers all talked about her ; and thou- 
sands of books were printed about my charming, astonishing, 
remarkable, crowing " Fanny Fern." 

I sent her to the fowl-shows, where she " took 'em all 



152 THE HISTORY OF 

clown" clean, and invariably carried away the first pre- 
mium in her class. Never was such a hen seen, before or 
since. I was offered a hundred, two hundred, five hundred 
dollars for her. I was poor ; but did n't I own this hen 
"Fanny." — the extraordinary, wonderful, magnificent, coal- 
black, blustering, but inapproachable and world-defying 
"Fanny"? 

" I will give you eight hundred dollars for her," said a 
publisher to me, one day. "I want to put her in a book. 
She 's a wonder ! a star of the first magnitude ! a diamond 
without blemish ! a God-send to the world in 1854 ! " 

At this moment "Fanny" crowed. 

"Will you take eight hundred?" screamed the pub- 
lisher, jumping nearly to the ceiling. 

" No, sir." 

"A thousand?" 

" No." 

"Two thousand?" 

"No, sir." 

" Five thousand?" 

"No! I will keep her." 

And I did. What was five thousand dollars to me ? Bah ! 
I had the hen-cock " Fanny Fern." I did n't want money. 
My pocket-book was full to bursting, and so was my head 
with the excitement of the hen fever. And "Fanny" 
crowed again. Ah ! what a crow was Fanny's ! " 



THE HEN FEVER. 153 

"Fanny" couldn't be bought, and so my competitors 
clanned together to destroy her. The old fogies did n't like 
this breed, and they resolved to annihilate all chance of its 
perpetuation. I placed her in better quarters, where she 
would be more secure from intrusion or surprise. I told 
her of my fears, — and didnH she crow ? She flapped her 
bright black wings, and crowed all over. ■ ' Cock-a-doodle- 
doo — oo — oo I" shouted "Fanny," while her sharp 
eyes twinkled, her fair throat trembled, and the exhilarating 
tone of defiance seemed to reach to the very tips of her 
shining toe-nails. " Cock-a-too — roo — oo! " she shrieked; 
" let 'em come, too ! See what they '11 do — oo ! I '11 take 
care of you — oo I Don' t get in a stoo — oo I Pooh — pooh 
— poo — poo ! " 

Maybe "Fanny" didn't crow! And / learned to 
crow. It was beautiful ! She crowed, and I crowed. We 
crowed together. She in her way, — I in mine. The duet 
was mellifluous, cheering, soul-stirring, life-invigorating, 
profitable. 

' " Fanny" went into New York State, crowing when she 
left, crowing as she went, and continuing to crow until she 
crowed the community there clear through the next fourth 
o' July, out into the fabled millenium. She crowed Messrs. 
Derby & Miller into a handsome fortune, and Mason & 
Brothers into ditto. She crowed one Hyacinth into the 
shreds of a cocked hat and battered knee-buckles. She 



154 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

crowed the Hall breed of old hens so far out of sight that 
the " search for Sir John Franklin " would be a fool to the 
journey requisite to overtake that family. And still she 
croioed. 

The more they bade her stop, the more she would n't. 
' ' Cock-a- tootle — too ! " " I-know-what- /-shall — doo ! ' ' 
' ' What-do-I-care-for — yoo ?" " This-world-is-all — foo- 
foo" " Leave-me-and-I '11-leave — you." "If-not-I'll- 
lamm — you — too — oo !" 

And " Fanny " crowed herself at last into the good graces 
of two long brothers in Gotham, where she is now crowing 
with all her might and main. Let her crow ! 

She was a remarkable " bird," that rollicking, joyous, 
inexplicable, flirting, funny, furious " Fanny Fern." I hear 
her now again ! 

" Cock-a-doodle — doo — oo !" " Young 'Un, — 
you- will-do ! ! " " Et — tu — Brute — o-o-o ! ! ! " 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CONVALESCENCE. 

One striking feature that exhibited itself in the midst 
of this mania, "was the fact that prominent among the lead- 
ing dealers in fancy poultry, constantly appeared the names 
of clergymen, doctors, and other "liberally-educated" gen- 
tlemen. 

In Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and most of the East- 
ern States, this circumstance was especially noticeable ; and 
more particularly in England. Whether this class of the 
community had the most money to throw away, or whether 
their leisure afforded them the better opportunity to indulge 
in this fancy, I cannot say ; but one thing is certain, — 
among my own patrons and correspondents, for the past 
five or six years, I find the names of this class of " the 
people " by far the most conspicuous and frequent. 

There came into my office, one morning late in 1853, 
a Boston physician (whom I had never seen before), 
who introduced himself civilly, and invited me to ride a 
short distance with him up town. I was busy; but he 



156 THE HISTOBY OF 

insisted, and his manner was peculiarly urgent and deter- 
mined. 

"My carriage is at the door," he said; "and I -will 
bring you back here in twenty minutes. I have some pure- 
blood stock I desire to dispose of." 

" What is it, doctor ?" I asked. 

" Chickens, chickens!" replied the doctor, briefly. 

I assured the gentleman that I had near a thousand fowls 
on hand at this time, and had no possible wish to increase 
the number. 

" They are pure-bred — cost me high," he continued; 
" are very fine, but I must part with them — come ! " 

I joined him, and we rode a mile or more, when he halted 
before a fine, large house ; his servant in waiting took his 
horse, and he ushered me into his well-appointed poultry- 
house, at the rear of his dwelling. 

The buildings were glazed in front and upon the roofs ; 
the yards were spacious and cleanly, and appropriately 
divided; the laying and hatching rooms were roomy and 
convenient ; the roosting-house was airy and pleasant, and 
everything was, seemingly, in excellent order, and arranged 
with good taste throughout. 

"That cock cost me twenty dollars," said the doctor, 
calmly. " Those two hens I paid eighteen dollars for. 
That bird, yonder, twelve dollars. These five pullets stand 
me in about forty-five dollars. I have never yet been able 



THE HEN FEVER. 157 

to hatch but one brood of chickens. The rats carried them 
off by the third morning after they came into this world. 
The hens sometimes lay, I believe ; at least, my man says so. 
I have never seen any eggs from them myself, however. I 
hate no doubt this species of fowls (these Changays) do lay 
eggs, though. There are twenty-two of them. Buy them, 
Mr. B ," continued the doctor, urgently. 

I said no ; I really did not want them. , 

" I had nigh forty of them," continued the doctor, " two 
months ago. But they have disappeared. Disease, roup, 
vermin, night-thieves, sir. Will you buy them? John 
drive them out ! " 

The fowls were driven into the main yard. There were 
but sixteen in all. 

"Where are the rest, John?" inquired the doctor, 
anxiously. " There were twenty-two here yesterday." 

" I dunno, sir," said John. 

" Drive 'em back, and box them up, John. Mr.B , 

will you make an offer for the remainder ? To-morrow I 
shall probably have none to sell ! Will you give anything 
for them?" 

I declined to buy. 

" Will you permit me to send them to you as a present, 
sir ? " he continued. 

I did not want them, any way. I had a full supply. 

" What will you charge me, Mr. B , to allow them 

14 



158 THE HISTOKY Off 

to be sent to you? " continued the fancier, desperately, and 
resolutely, at last. 

I saw tie was determined, and I took his fowls (fifteen of 
them), and gave him ten dollars. 

He smiled. 

"I have had the hen fever," he added, " badly — but I 
am better of it. I am convalescent, now," said the doctor. 
" You see what I have here for houses ; cost me over seven 
hundred dollars ; my birds over four hundred more; grain 
and care for a year, a hundred more. I am satisfied! 
Your money, here, is the first dollar I ever received in return 
for my investment. You see what I have left out of my 
venture of twelve or thirteen hundred dollars ; the manure, 
and — and — the lice ! " 

Such were the exact facts ! His stock was selected from 
the Marsh and Forbes importations, and the birds were good ; 
b'iit, by the time he got ready to believe that it was n't all 
gold that glittered, the sale of this variety of fowl had 
passed by. A chance purchaser happened to come along 
soon after, however, who "hadn't read the papers" so 
attentively as some of us had, and who wanted these very 
fowls. I sold them to him, " cheap as a broom," because 
the fever for this kind of bird was rapidly declining. He 
paid me only $150 for this lot ; which was a bargain, of a 
truth. The buyer was satisfied, however, and so was I. 

These were but isolated instances. Scores and hundreds 



THE HEN FEVER. 159 

of gentlemen and amateur fanciers found themselves in a 
similar predicament, at the end of one or two or three years. 
Without possessing a single particle of knowledge requisite 
to the successful accomplishment of their purpose, — utterly 
ignorant of the first rudiments of the business, — they 
jumped into it, without reason, forgetting the wholesome 
advice contained in the musty adage, "look before you leap." 
And, after sinking tens and hundreds or (in some cases) 
thousands of dollars in experiments, they woke up to find 
that they had had the fever badly, but, fortunately, were 
at last convalescent ! 

I was busy, all this time, in supplying my friends with 
" pure-bred" stock, however, and had very little leisure to 
tarry to sympathize with these " poor creeturs." The 
demand for my stock continued, and the best year's busi- 
ness I ever enjoyed, was from the spring of 1853 to May 
and June, 1854 ; when it commenced to fall off very sensi- 
bly, and the prospect became dubious, for future operations, 
even with me. 



CHAPTER XXIV, 

AN EXPENSIVE BUSINESS. 

During the past six years I have expended, outright for 
breeding stock, and for appropriate buildings for my fowls, 
over four thousand dollars, in round numbers — without 
taking into the account the expenses of their care, and the 
cost of feeding. 

Few breeders have spent anything like this sum, for this 
purpose, strictly. In the mean time, the aggregate of my 
receipts has reached (up to January, 1855) upwards of 
seventy thousand dollars. I have raised thousands upon 
thousands of the Chinese varieties of fowls, and my purchases 
to fill orders which came to hand during this term — in 
addition to what I was able to fill from those I myself 
raised — have been very large. And, while I have been 
thus engaged, hundreds and hundreds of amateurs and 
fanciers have sprung up in various directions, all of whom 
have had their share, too, in this trade. 

To the fanciers — those who purchased, as many did at 
first, simply for their amusement, or for the mere satisfaction 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 161 

of having good, or, perhaps, the best birds — this fever proved 
an expensive matter. I have known amateurs who willing- 
ly paid twenty, fifty, or a hundred dollars, and even more, 
for a pair, or a trio, of what were considered very choice 
Shanghaes. These fowls, after the first few weeks or months 
of the purchaser's excitement had passed by, could be 
bought of him for five or ten dollars a pair ! Yet, his next- 
door neighbor, who would not now take these identical birds 
for a gift, scarcely, would pay to a stranger a similarly 
extravagant amount to that which had a hundred times been 
paid by others before him, for something, perhaps, inferior 
in quality, but which chanced to be called by the most pop- 
ular name current at the moment. 

Thus, for a time, bubble number one, the Cochin- Chinas, 
prevailed. The eggs of th^ese fowls sold at a dollar each, 
for a long period. Then came the Shanghaes, of different 
colors, — as the yellow, the white, the buff, or the black, — 
and took their turn. Many thousands of these were disposed 
of, at round rates. The smooth-legged birds at first com- 
manded the best price; then the feathered-legged. And, 
finally, came the Grey Shanghaes, or " Chittagongs," or 
" Brahmas," as they were differently termed; and this 
proved bubble number two, in earnest. 

Everybody wanted them, and everybody had to pay for 
them, too ! They were large, heavy fowls, of China blood, 
plainly, but, with some few exceptions, were indifferent 
14* 



162 THE HISTORY OS 

birds. They were leggy, however, and stood up showy and 
tall, and, to look at, appeared advantageously to the fancy, 
at this period. In the maw of this bubble, thousands of 
good dollars were thrown ; and no race of poultry ever had 
the run that did these Greys, under various names, both in 
this country and in England. 

A most excellent Southern trade had sprung up, and large 
shipments of fowls went forward to the West, from Massa- 
chusetts, and to Charleston, Augusta, Mobile, New Orleans, 
etc., where the fever broke out furiously, and continued, 
without abatement, for three years or more. 

No buyers were so liberal, generally, and no men in the 
world, known to Northern breeders, bought so extensively, as 
did these fanciers in New Orleans and vicinity. They 
purchased largely, from the very start : and the trade was 
kept up with a singular vigor and enterprise, from the be- 
ginning to the end. Orders, varying in value from $500 to 
$1200 and $1500, were of almost weekly occurrence from 
that region ; and in one instance, I sent forward to a gentle- 
man in Louisiana, a single shipment for which he paid me 
$2230 ! This occurred in September, 1853. 

In this same year, I sent, from January to December, to 
another gentleman (at New Orleans), over ten thousand 
dollars' worth of stock. 

The prices for chickens ranged from $12 <s> $15 a pair, 
to $25 or $30, and often $40 to $50, a pair. These rates 



THE HEN FEVER. 163 

were always willingly and freely paid, and the stock was, 
after a while, disseminated throughout the entire valley of 
the Mississippi; where the China fowls always did better 
than in our own climate. 

It proved an expensive business to some of these gentle- 
men, most emphatically. But they always paid cheerfully, 
promptly, and liberally ; and knew the Yankees they were 
dealing with, a good deal better than many of the sharpers 
supposed they did. For myself, I shall not permit this 
opportunity to pass without expressing my thanks to my 
numerous and generous Southern patrons, to whom I sent a 
great many hundred pairs of what were deemed " good 
birds," and to whom I am indebted, largely, for the trade I 
enjoyed for upwards of five years. I sincerely hope they 
made more money out of all this than I did ; and I trust 
that their substance, as well as " their shadows, may never 
be less." 

During this year, and far into 1854, the current of trade 
turned towards Great Britain ; and John Bull was not very 
slow to appreciate the rare qualities of my " magnificent " 
and '• extraordinary " birds; "the like of which," said a 
London journal, when the Queen's fowls first arrived, " was 
never before seen in England." 

For upwards of a year, I had all this trade in my own 
way. Subsequently, some of the smaller dealers sent out a 
few pairs to London, but " the people " there could never 



164 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

be brought to believe those fowls were anything but mon- 
grels ; and, while these interlopers contrived to murder the 
trade there, they at the same time " cut off their own noses," 
for the future, with those who knew what poultry was, upon 
the other side of the Atlantic. 

I had my shy at the Britons, seasonably ! 

But, a few months afterwards (as I shall show in a future 
chapter), through the mismanagement of an ambitious dealer 
in other fancy live-stock, the trade with England, from this 
side of the water, was completely ruined. Over two hun- 
dred American fowls were thrown suddenly upon the 
London market, and were finally sold there, at auction, for 
a very small sum ; and we were subsequently unable (with 
all our chicken-eloquence) to make John Bull believe that 
even the Grey Shanghaes were any longer " scarce " with 
us, here I 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE GKEAT PAGODA HEN. 

The most ridiculous and fulsome advertisements now 
occupied the columns of certain so-called agricultural 
papers in this country, particularly one or two of these 
sheets in New York State, 

Stories were related by correspondents (and endorsed by 
the nominal editors), regarding the proportions and weights 
and beauties of certain of the '- Bother'em " class of fowls, 
that rivalled Munchausen, out and out. Fourteen and fif- 
teen pound cocks, and ten or eleven pound hens, were as 
common as the liars who told the stories of these impossibil- 
ities. And one day the following capital hit, by Durivage, 
appeared in a Boston journal. He called it " The Great 
Pagoda Hen." There is as much truth in this as there 
was in many of the more seriously-intended articles of that 
time. It ran as follows : 

" Mr. Sap Green retired from business, and took posses- 
sion of his country 'villa,' just about the time the 'hen 
fever ' was at its height ; and he soon gave evidence of hav- 



166 THE HISTORY OP 

ing that malignant disorder in its most aggravated form. 
He tolerated no birds in his yard that weighed less than 
ten pounds at six months, and he allowed no eggs upon his 
table that were not of a dark mahogany color, and of the 
flavor of pine shavings. He supplied his own table with 
poultry, and the said poultry consisted of elongated drum- 
sticks, attached by gutta-percha muscles and catgut sinews to 
ponderous breast-bones. He frequently purchased a 'crower ' 
for a figure that could have bought a good Morgan horse ; 
but then, as the said crower consumed as much grain as a 
Morgan horse, he could not help being perfectly satisfied 
with the bargain. His wife complained that he was ' mak- 
ing ducks and drakes ' of his property ; but, as that involved 
a high compliment to his ornithological tastes, he attempted 
no retort. He satisfied himself that it ' would pay in the 
end.' His calculations of profits were 'clear as mud.' He 
would have a thousand hens. The improved breeds were 
warranted to lay five eggs apiece a week ; and eggs were 
worth — that is, he ivas paying — six dollars a dozen. His 
thousand hens would lay twenty thousand eight hundred 
and thirty-three dozen eggs per annum, which, at six dol- 
lars per dozen, would amount to the sum of one hundred 
and twenty-four thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight 
dollars. Even deducting; therefrom the original cost of the 
hens and their keep, — say thirty-six thousand dollars, — the 
very pretty trifle of eighty-eight thousand nine hundred and 



THE HEN FEVER. 167 

ninety-eight was the remainder — clear profit. Eggs — 
even dark mahogany eggs — went doivn to a shilling a 
dozen ! But we will not anticipate. 

" To facilitate the multiplication of the feathered species, 
Mr. Green imported a French Eccaleobion, or egg-hatching 
machine, that worked by steam, and was warranted to 
throw off a thousand chicks a month. 

" One day an ' ancient mariner' arrived at the villa, with 
a small basket on his arm, and inquired for the master of 
the house. Sap was just then engaged in important busi- 
ness, — teaching a young chicken to crow, — but he left his 
occupation, and received the stranger. 

" ' Want to buy an egg ? ' asked the mariner. 

" ' One egg? Why, where did it come from? ' asked the 
hen-fancier. 

" ' E Stingies,' replied the mariner. 

" ' Domestic fowl's egg ? ' 

" 'Domestic' 

'" Let 's see it.' 

" The sailor produced an enormous egg, weighing about 
a pound. Sap ( hefted ' it carefully. 

" 'Did you ever see the birds that lay such eggs?' he 
asked. 

" ' Lots on 'em,' replied the sailor. ' They 're big as all 
out-doors. They calls 'em the Gigantic Pagoda Hen. 
I 'm afeared to tell you how big they are ; you won't 



168 THE HISTORY OP 

believe me. But jest you hatch out that 'ere, and you '11 
see wot '11 come of it.' 

" ' But they must eat a great deal ? ' said Sap. 

" ' Scarcely anything,' replied the mariner; ' that 's the 
beauty on 'em. Don't eat as much as Bantams.' 

" ' Are they good layers ? ' 

" ' You can't help 'em laying,' replied the seaman, 
enthusiastically. ' They lay one egg every week-day, and 
two Sundays.' 

" ' But when do they set? ' queried Green. 

" e They don't set at all. They lays their eggs in damp, 
hot places, and natur' does the rest. The chicks take keer 
of themselves as soon as they 're out of the shell.' 

"'Damp, hot place!' said Sap. 'My Eccaleobion is 
the very thing, and my artificial sheep-skin mother will 
bring 'em up to a charm. My friend, what will you take 
for your egg ? ' 

" ' Cap'n,' said the mariner, solemnly, ' if I was going to 
stay ashore, I would n't take a hundred dollars for it ; but, 
as I 've shipped ag'in, and sail directly, you shall have it for 
forty.' 

"The forty dollars were instantly paid, and the hen- 
fancier retired with his prize, his conscience smiting him for 
having robbed a poor, hard-working sailor. 

" 0, how he watched the egg -hatching machine while 
that extraordinary egg was undergoing the steaming pro- 



THE HEN FEVER. 169 

cess ! He begrudged the time exacted by eating and sleep- 
ing; but his vigils were rewarded by the appearance, in 
due time, of a stout young chick, with the long legs that 
are a proof of Eastern blood. The bird grew apace ; indeed, 
almost as rapidly as Jack's bean-stalk, or the prophet's 
gourd. But the sailor was mistaken in one thing ; it ate 
voraciously. Moreover, as it increased in size and strength, 
the Pagoda exhibited extraordinary pugnacity. It kickedr 
a dozen comrades to death in one night. It even bit the 
hand of the feeder. Soon it was necessary to confine it in 
a separate apartment. Its head soon touched the ceiling. 
What a pity it had no mate ! Sap wrote to a correspond- 
ent at Calcutta to ship him two pairs of the Great Pagoda 
birds, without regard to cost. Meanwhile he watched the 
enormous growth of his single specimen. He kepi its ex- 
istence a profound secret. It was under lock and key, in 
a separate apartment, lighted by a large window in the roof. 
Sap's man-of-all-work wheeled daily two bushels of corn 
and a barrel of water to the door of the apartment, and 
Green fed them out when no one was looking. Even this 
supply was scanty ; but, out of justice to his family, Sap 
was compelled to put the monster bird on allowance. 

" 'Poor thing ! ' he would say, when he saw the creature 

devouring broken glass, and even bolting stray nails and 

gravel-stones, ' it cuts me to the soul to see it reduced to 

such extremity. But it 's eating me out of bouse and home. 

15 



170 THE HISTORY OF 

Decidedly, that sailor-man must have been deceived about 
their being moderate feeders.' 

" When the bird had attained to the enormous altitude 
of six feet, the proud proprietor sent for the celebrated Dr. 
Ludwig Hydrarchos, of Cambridge, to inspect him, and 
furnish him with a scientific description, wherewith he 
might astonish his brethren of the Poultry Association. 
The doctor came, and was carefully admitted by Green to 
the presence of the Great Pagoda Hen. The bird was not 
accustomed to the sight of strangers, and began to manifest 
uneasiness and displeasure at seeing the man of science. It 
lifted first one foot and then the other, as if it were tread- 
ing on hot plates. 

"'Hi! hi!' said Green, soothingly. 'Pagy! Pagy! 
come, now, be quiet ! — will you ? ' 

" ' Let me out ! ' cried Hydrarchos. in great alarm. The 
huge bird was polking up to him. ' Let me out, I say ! ' 

"'I never knew it to act so before,' said Green, fumbling 
at the lock. 

"A whirr, a rush, a whizzing of the wings, and the 
bird was down on the doctor, treading on his heels, and 
pecking at the nape of his neck. 

" ' Pagy ! Pagy ! " supplicated the owner. 

" But the angry bird would not listen to reason, and Sap 
received a thump on the head for his pains. And now 
both rushed for the opening door, stumbling and falling 



THE HEN FEVER. 171 

prostrate in their eagerness to escape. The monster bird 
danced a moment on their prostrate bodies, and then darted 
forth from its late prison-house. 

' ' It rushed through a couple of grape-houses, carrying 
destruction in its progress. It scoured through the flower- 
beds, ruining the bright parterres. Mrs. Green, who was 
walking in the garden with her child, saw the horrid appari- 
tion, and stood paralyzed with terror. In an instant she was 
thrown down and trampled under foot, shrieking and clasp- 
ing her infant in her arms. 

" Mr. Green beheld this last atrocity, and his conjugal 
affection overcame his love of birds. He caught up his 
fowling-piece and fired at the ungrateful monster ; the shot 
ripped up some of its tail-feathers, but failed to inflict a 
mortal wound, — nothing short of a field-piece could produce 
an impression on that living mass. Away sped the fowl to 
the railroad-track, down which it rushed with headlong 
speed. But its career was brief; an express train, coming 
up in an opposite direction, struck it full in front, and 
rushed on, scattering feathers, wings and drum-sticks, wildly 
in the air. 

" 'Tell me, doctor,' gasped Green, 'what do you think 
of my Great Pagoda ? ' 

" ' Great Pagoda ! ' said the professor, in indignant dis- 
dain. ' That was a Struthio, — Greek, Strotkons, — in 
other words, an ostrich. If you had n't belonged to the 



172 THE HISTORY OF 

genus Asinus, you 'd have known that, without asking me. 
Good-morning, Mr. Green.' 

' ' ' Where is the monster ? ' cried Mrs. Green. ' I 
believe the poor child is killed. 0, Sap, I did n't expect 
this of you ! ' 

" ' Be quiet, my dear,' said Green ; \ it was only an ex- 
periment.' 

"'An experiment, Mr. Green!' retorted the lady, 
sharply ; ' your wife and child nearly killed, and you call 
it an experiment ! Nurturing ostriches to devour your off- 
spring ! I wonder you don't take to raising elephants.' 

" l No danger of that, Maria,' replied her husband, 
meekly. ' I have " seen the elephant." And to-morrow I 
shall send my entire stock to the auction- room, — Shang- 
haes, Chittagongs, Brahma Pootras. Cochins, Warhens and 
Warhoos. They 're nice birds, great layers, small eaters, 
but they — douH pay? " 

Mr. Green was cured, of course ; and though his antici- 
pations were great, yet he had his predecessors and his 
successors in the hen traffic, who were almost as sanguine 
as he, and who not only "paid through the nose " for their 
experience, but who came off, in the end, really, with quite 
as little success. Mr. Green was but one of many. Mr. 
Green was one of " the people." 

It will be remembered that my correspondents allude to 
the fowls they " see in the noospapers." 



THE HEN FEVER. 173 

/had seen these birds, in the same way, before they did. 
And a London dealer wrote me that he could send me a lot 
of Egleton's "famous" stock, "which took the three first 
premiums at a metropolitan show, and two descendants of 
which, at the close of the late exhibition, were sold at auc- 
tion for forty-eight guineas ($262)." 

I immediately sent out for a few of these monsters. 
They were described to me. as being of enormous size, and 
feathered upon the legs ; and I was now somewhat sur- 
prised to note that several of the English societies decided 
that the true " Cochin- China " fowl (as they term this 
variety) come only with feathered legs. The very stock 
above alluded to, however, came direct from the city of 
Shanghae ; and duplicate birds of the same blood were de- 
lineated in the London Illustrated News. The metropol- 
itan associations required that all Cochin-China fowls 
put in competition for premiums must be feathered-legged. 
This was a new decision, as it is well known that every 
importation of domestic fowl yet brought out from China 
direct come more or less clean-legged ; and that fully one 
half of their progeny are so, with the most careful breed- 
ing, both in England and in this country. This was imma- 
terial, however; and I repeated the story to my corres- 
pondents in good faith, and sent them copies of the por- 
traits of these new, "extraordinary," "splendid" and 
"astonishing" hens, precisely as their history and pictures 
15* 



174 



THE HISTORY Of 



came to me. The result can be fancied. Here is the 
"original " portrait of 




ONE OF EM. 

This was the kind of thing that "took down" the out- 



THE HEN FEVER. 175 

siders. Orders for this strain of pure blood poured in upon 
me, and I supplied them. I trust the purchasers were 
always satisfied. In my case, it might answer; but I 
would not recommend the practice generally of purchasing 
chickens out of the newspapers. Such a portrait as the 
above might chance to be a little fanciful : or, perhaps, it 
might be a trifling exaggeration, you see. Yet this was 
the breed that were always " put in the newspapers." 
You very rarely found them in your coops, though ! 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

"policy the best honesty." 

This reversion of the old saying that " honesty 's the 
best policy " seemed to have finally attained among many 
hen-men, and the ambition to dispose of their now large 
surplus stock, at the best possible prices, had become very 
general, while the means to accomplish it came to be imma- 
terial, so that they got rid of their fancy poultry at fancy 
^figures. 

Nothing that could be said against me and my stock was 
neglected, or omitted to be said. But, as long as fowls 
would sell at all, I had my full share of the trade, notwith- 
standing this. The following veritable letter, received from 
a noted "breeder," in 1853, will explain itself; and it ex- 
hibits the disposition of more than one huckster still left 
around us. It will be observed that this gentleman called 
me his " friend" ! 

" Friend B : What has become of all the trade ? I 

have n't sold twenty dollars' worth of chickens, in a month I 
I 've now got over three hundred of these curses on hand — 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 177 

and they 're eating me up, alive. What '11 we do with 
them ? Do you want them ? Will you buy them — any- 
how ? And give what you like for them. 

"They are a better lot than you ever owned, — every- 
body says so, — Greys, Cochins {pure) and Shanghaes. 
D — n the business ! I'm sick of it. My fowls and fixin's 
cost me over twelve hundred dollars. What do you think 
of an auction ? Has the bottom fallen out, entirely ? Could 
I get back two or three dollars apiece for this lot, do you 
think, at public sale ? 

" B is stuck with about five hundred of the gorman- 

disers. I 'm glad of it — glad — glad ! An't you ? He 
always lammed you, as well as me ; and though I think 
you can swinge the green 'uns as cutely as 'most any of ~ 
'em, he has been an eye-sore for three years that ought 
to be put down. He got his stock of you, he says, — but 

(no offence to you, friend B ), it an't worth a cuss. All 

of it 's sick and lousy, and he shan't sell no more fowls, if 
I can help it. 

"Have you seen W 's stock, lately? Isn't he a 

beauty ! I told him, last week, he 'd ought to be ashamed 
of himself ever to gone into this trade, at all. He 's well 
enough off, without stealing the bread out of the mouths of 
them that's a long way honester than he ever was. I'll 
have a lick at him, yet. 

"Come and see my stock, — and buy it. I don't want 



178 THE HISTORY OF 

» 

it. I must give it up. I'm too busy about something 
else. Come — will you? I don't say anything against 
your fowls, outside ; but you know, as well as I do, that 
you have n't got the real thing. Bennett says you have n't, 
and everybody else says so. As to your 'importations,' 
you never had a fowl that was imported from any further 
off than Cape Cod, and you know it ! But that is neither 
here nor there. / don't care a fig how much you gouge 
'em. All I want is to get rid of mine. If you don't buy 
them, I shall sell them, — somehow, — or give them away, 
sure. They shan't eat me up, nohow. 

" They don't eat nothing — these fowls don't ! 0, what 
an infernal humbug this is ! I never got much out of it, 
though. I tell everybody what all the rest of you do, — of 
course. But / had rather keep the same number of Suf- 
folk pigs, anyhow, so far as that 's concerned. I an't 
afraid of your showing this letter to nobody — ha ! ha ! 
So I don't mark it ' private.' But of all the owdacious 
humbugs that ever this country saw, this thing is the 
steepest, — and you know it ! 

"-Write me and say what you '11 give me for my lot. I 
won't peach on you. You can buy 'em on your own 
terms. I want to get out of it. And you may say just 
what you've a mind about 'era. I'll back you, of course. 
Could n't you take them, and get up another fresh guy on 
a ' new importation ' ? That 's it. Come, now, friend 



THE HEN FEVER. 179 

B , help me out. And answer immediately. All I 

want is to get out of it, and catch me there again if you 
can ! Yours, &c, 



"P. S. If you don't buy them, I shall kill the brutes, 
and send 'em to market ; though they are too poor for that, 
I think." 

This complimentary epistle from a brother-fancier was 
rather cool, but it did n't equal the following. I had more 
than one of this sort, too, — of which I had no occasion, for 
the time being, to take the slightest notice, for I had " other 
fish to fry," decidedly ! 

' ' Me. Burnham. — Sir : How is it that you have the 
impudence to try to palm off on the public those fowls of 
yours for genuine ' imported ones,' when it is known that 

you bought them all of me, and A , and B ? How 

can you sleep nights ? Don't you feel a squirming in your 
conscience ? Or is it made of ingy- rubber, or gutter-perchy ? 
You have made hundreds, and I don't know but thousands 
of dollars, by your impudence and bare-faced deceit. They 
are not genuine fowls. I say this bolely. I wish there was 
a noospaper that would show the inderpeadence to print an 
article that I could rite for it, on this subject of poletry. 
If I would n't make you stare, and shet your eyes up, too, 
then I aint no judge of swindling ! 



180 THE HISTORY OP 

" Why don't you act like a man ? Camt you ? Havn't 
you got the pluck to own up that other people have done 
for you what you never had the gumption to do for your- 
self? Why don't you act fair, — and tell where the genuine 
fowls can be got, and of who ? You 're a doing the poultry 
business more hurt than all the rest of the men in the 
country is doing, or ever did, or ever will, sir. 

" I don't mind a man's being sharp, and looking out for 
himself. / do that. But I carn't humbug people as you 
are doing, — and I won't, neither. You 're sticking it into 
the people nicely, — don't you think you are? And they 
believe it, too ! The people believes what you tell them, 
and sucks it all down, and wants more of it. And you 
keep a giving it to them, too ! How long do you suppose 
such infamous things as these can last ? I hope this letter 
will do you good. I havn't no ends to answer. I keep 
but a few fowls, and I have never charged over twenty-five 
dollars a pair for the best of them, — as you know. You 
get fifty or a hundred dollars a pair. So the noospapers 
say, but I believe you lie when they say so. You carn't 
come this over me ! You don't pull none of that wool 
over my eyes ! No, sir ! 

" If you want to get an honest living, — get it ! I don't 
say nothin against that ; you 've a rite to. But don't 
cheat the people out of their eye-teeth, by telling these 



THE HEN FEVER. 181 

stories that you carn't prove.* You 've no right to. You 
sell fowls, by this means, but you don't get no clear con- 
science by it. It 's wrong, Mr. Burnum, and you know it. 
"While you do this, nobody can sell no fowls except you. 
Give other people a chance, say I. I would n't do this, no- 
how, to sell my fowls at your expense ; and I go for having 
everybody do unto others as I would do to them. This is 
moral and Christian-like, and you 'd better adopt it. That 's 
my advice, and I don't charge nothing for it. So, no more 
at present — from Your, resp'y, 



These missives never disturbed me. Why should they ? 
These very men would have sold, from that very stock, — 
had done so, repeatedly, before, — whatever a buyer sought 
to purchase. I never knew either of them to permit the 
chance of a sale to pass by him, on account of the variety 
of bird sought ! They invariably possessed whatever was 
wanted. With them, '■'"policy was the best honesty." I 
did not complain. I was a " hen-man," but no Mentor. 

* I never found, in my limited experience in this business, any par- 
ticular necessity for attempting to prove anything. " The people " wanted 
Fowls — not proofs ! 

16 



CHAPTER XXVII, 




A GENUINE HUMBUG. 



It was now getting pretty clear to the vision of most of 
the initiated that the hen fever was in the midst of its height. 
Buyers with long purses were about, but they were not sc 
ravenous as formerly. They talked knowingly and cau- 
tiously, and chose their fowls with more care than formerly ; 
but still a great many samples were being circulated, and at 
very handsomely remunerating prices. 

A gentlemanly-Zoo&m.j? man called upon me, one day, 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 183 

about this time, in Boston, and introduced himself, in his 
own felicitous manner, something in this wise : 

" How are you ? Mr. Burnum, I suppose. My name is 
T . I 'm from Phil'delphy." 

" Happy to see you, Mr. T ," I replied. "Take a 

seat, sir? " 

" I want to look at your fowls, Burnum," he continued, 
in a rather bluff manner. " I know what poultry is. I 
think. I've been at it, now, over thirty year ; and I'd 
oughter know what fowls is. You 're a humbug, Burnum ! 
There's no doubt about that; and you're all a set of 
hums, together — you hen-men ! I have n't got the fever. 
I 'm never disturbed by no such stupid nonsense. These 
China fowls are an old story with me. I had 'em twenty 
years ago, — brought into Phil'delphy straight from Shang- 
hae by a friend of mine." 

[This gentleman had forgotten, or did n't know (or 
thought /didn't), that the port of Shanghae had been open 
to communication with this country only a dozen years or 
less ; and so I permitted him to proceed in his remarks 
without offering any opposition to his assumption.] 

" These big fowls never lay no eggs, Burnum. You know 
it as well as anybody. Do they ?" 

" None to hurt," I answered. 

"No, no — I reck'n not," continued my visitor. "/ 
know 'em, like a book. Can't fool me with them. They 



184 THE HISTORY 0¥ 

an't worth a curse to nobody. I'll go out and see yours, 
though, 'cause you 're a good deal fairer than I expected to 
find you. I thought you 'd try to hum me, same as I s'pose 
you do the rest." 

" 0, no ! " I replied, meekly. " When I meet with gen- 
tlemen who are posted up, as you are, sir, I conceive it to be 
useless to attempt to urge them to possess themselves of this 
stock : because I am always satisfied, at first sight, what my 
customer is. And I govern myself accordingly. I will 
take you out to my place, directly. My carriage is in 
town, and we '11 ride out together. You can see it, — but 
you say you don't want to purchase any ? " 

" No, no — that 's not my object, at all. Still, I like to 
look at the humbugs, any way." 

I was as well satisfied that this man knew very little of 
what he thus boldly talked of, as I also was that he had 
come all the way from Philadelphia purposely to buy some 
Chinese fowls. But I gave him no hint of this suspicion ; 
and we arrived, an hour afterwards, at my residence in 
Melrose. 

He examined my fowls carefully ; went through all the 
coops and houses, and finally we entered the "green-house" 
where the selected animals were kept. As soon as he saw 
these birds, /saw that he was " a goner." 

He denounced the whole race as he passed along ; but 
when we entered this well-appointed place, he stopped. 



THE HEN FEVER. 185 

These were very respectable, and he would n't mind having 
a few of these, he said. 

" What do you get for such as these ? " he inquired. 

" Twenty-five dollars each," I replied, " when I sell 
them. But they 're all alike. You know it as well as I 
do. They 're worth no such money. These fowls are well- 
grown, and are in good condition ; but five or six shillings 
each is their full real value. Still, you know when ' the 
children cry for them,' why, we get a little more for 
them." 

" Yes ; but twenty-five dollars is a thundering hum, any- 
how, Burnum ! I can't go that ! You must n't think of 
getting no such price as that out of me, you see ; 'cause 
you know that i" know what all this bosh means. I 'd like 
that cock and those three big hens," he added, pointing to 
four of my " best " birds. " That is," he continued, " if 
I could have them at anything like a fair rate." 

"My dear sir," I responded; "you don't want any 
such hum as this imposed upon you. You know, evidently, 
what all this kind of thing signifies. But, at the same time, 
you see I can get this price, and do get it every day in the 
week, out of the ' flats ' that you have been speaking of. 
I don't sell any of these things to gentlemen, who know, as 
you do, what they are, you see." 

" Yes, yes ! " continued the stranger ; "I know ; I see. 
I comprehend you, exactly — precisely. But I should 
16* 



186 THE HISTORY OF 

like them four fowls. What 's the lowest price you '11 
name for them? " 

" I never have but one price, sir," I replied. " These 
fowls I keep here for show-birds. They are my 'sign,' 
you perceive — my models. The younger stock, that you 
have seen outside, are bred from these ; and thus I am 
enabled to show gentlemen, when they come here, what the 
others will be " — (perhaps, I might have added ; but I 
didn't). 

This gentleman remained half an hour at my house, and 
we talked the whole subject over, at our leisure. I agreed 
with him in every proposition that he advanced, and he 
finally left me with the assurance that I had been traduced 
villanously. He really expected to meet with a regular 
sharper when he encountered me ; but he was satisfied, if 
there was a gentleman and an honest poultry r breeder in 
New England, I was that fortunate individual ! 

I did not dispute even this assurance on his part. And 
when he left, /had one hundred dollars of his money, and 
he took away with him four of my " splendid " pure-bred 
Grey Shanghaes, which I sent to the cars with him when he 
bade me good-day. 

This was but a single sample of the real humbugs that 
presented themselves to us, from time to time, all of whom 
were certain to inform us that they were "thoroughly 
acquainted" with the entire details of the business; all of 



THE HEN FEVER. 187 

whom had been through the routine, and " knew every rope 
in the ship;" none of whom were affected with the 
"fever" (so they always declared), and not one of whom 
believed, while they were thus striving to pull wool over 
the eyes of others, that they were all the time being 
" shaken down" without mercy ! 

This was the very class of men who, in the later days 
of the malady, assisted most to keep up the delusion, and to 
aid in carrying on the hum of the trade. To be sure, 
the keepers of agricultural warehouses talked, and told big 
stories to their poor customers, who would buy eggs and 
chickens of them, for a while, at round prices ; true, most of 
the agricultural papers strove from week to week to keep 
up the deceit, after the editors or proprietors found their 
yards over-stocked with this species of property, for which 
they had originally paid me (or somebody else) roundly, 
and which they "couldn't afford to lose," though they 
knew it to be valueless ! True, the hen-men themselves 
kept their advertising and the big stories of their success 
constantly before "the people," whom they gulled from 
day to day. But no portion of the community did more 
to " help the cause along " than did this self-sufficient, 
learned, know-nothing, thin-skinned class of " wise-acres," 
who never chanced to make much more than a considerable 
out of the writer of this paragraph — I think ! 

Among this well-informed (?) set of men there wa3 



188 THE HISTORY OF 

a "John Bull" who was connected in some way with 
a Boston weekly, which was nominally called an agri- 
cultural sheet, but which for several years was filled 
with articles upon the subject of "the equality of the 
sexes." 

His name was Pudder, or Pucker, or Padder, as 
nearly as I remember. From the commencement of 
this fever he was sorely affected, and his articles upon 
the merits of the different breeds of fowls he raised 
were very learned and instructive ! He sold eggs for 
three, four, or five dollars a dozen, for a few weeks ; but, as 
they didn't hatch, his game was soon blocked. Still, he 
stuck to this hum with the obstinacy of a " bluenose ; " and 
his readers were indebted to his advice for possessing them- 
selves of the most worthless mass of trash (in the shape 
of poultry) that ever cursed the premises of amateur. 
His lauded " Plymouth Rocks," his " Fawn-colored Dork- 
ings," his " Italians," his "Drab Shanghaes," etc., sold, 
however ; and the poor devils who read the paper, and 
who purchased this stuff, lived (like a good many others) 
to realize, to their hearts' content, after paying this fellow 
for being thus humbugged, the truth of the old adage that 
" the fool and his money is soon parted." 

Still, Podder was useful — in his way — in the hen- 
trade. The operations of such ignorant and wilful huck- 
sters had the effect of opening the eyes of those who 



THE HEN FEVEH. 189 

desired to obtain good stock, and who were willing to 
pay for it. And after they had been thus fleeced, 
they became cautious, and procured their poultry only of 
"honorable" and responsible breeders (like myself), who 
imported and bred nothing but known pure stock. 

As late as in January, 1855, a western agricultural 
sheet alludes to the flaming advertisement of an old hand 
in this traffic, and says: "It is known to all who know 
anything about poultry that Mr. G has been an ama- 
teur breeder for about forty years, and is undoubtedly 
better 'posted,' in reference to domestic and fancy fowls, 
than any other man in America ; and, beside this, he is an 
honest man, and has no { axe to grind.' He has raised fowls, 
heretofore, solely for his own amusement ; but now he 
proposes to accommodate the public by disposing of some of 
them." 

This man is my " fat friend " in Connecticut, — who has 
bred and bought and sold as much trash, in the past ten 
years, as the best (or the worst) of us. Friend Brown, we 
could tell you a story worth two of yours, on this point ! 
But — we forbear. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

BARNUM IN THE FIELD. 

The prince of showmen was suddenly developed as a 
" hen-man " ! Mr. Barnum was seized, one morning, with 
violent spasms, and, upon finding himself safely within the 
friendly shelter of "Iranistan," his physicians were duly 
consulted, who examined his case critically, and reported 
that the disease lay chiefly in the head of their patient — 
who, it was subsequently ascertained, was suffering from a 
severe attack of hen fever. 

Such was the violence of the demonstrations in this gen- 
tleman's case, however, and so fearful were the indications 
with him, even during the incipient stages of the affection, 
that his friends feared that Phineas T. had really contracted 
his " never -get-over." But, upon being informed (as I 
was, soon afterwards) of this case, and questioned as to his 
probable eventual recovery, I unhesitatingly gave it as my 
opinion that his friends might rest assured the humbug that 
could kill him was yet to be discovered; and that, so far 
as he was personally concerned, I entertained no sort of 



THE HIST BY OF THE HEN FEVER. 191 

doubt that " lie would feel much better when it was done 
aching." (A prediction which, I have no question, has 
been accurately fulfilled, ere this.) 

The man who could succeed, as he had, with no-haired 
horses, gutta-percha mermaids, fat babies, etc., and who had 
gone into and out of fire-annihilators, prepared mastodons, 
illustrated newspapers, copper mines, defunct crystal pal- 
aces, and the like, unscathed, would scarcely be jeopardized 
by an attack of the prevailing malady of the day, however 
violently it might exhibit itself in his case. And so there 
was hope for Phineas, though his symptoms were really 
alarming. 

My friend took the very best possible means for alleviat- 
ing the virulence of his attack ; and, looking about him for 
the largest-sized humbug known in the trade, he alighted 
upon a two-hundred-and-forty-pound Connecticut joker, 
who quickly offered to inform him how he could find relief. 

" How shall I do it, John? " exclaimed Phineas, as his 
fat friend made his appearance. 

" Heesiest thing in life," responded John ; "hall you 'ave 
to do is to put yer 'and in yer pocket." 

"So?" said Phineas, putting his fist gently out of 
sight. 

"No — you aren't deep enough down yet," replied 
John. " Go down deeper. That 's better, — that '11 do." 

" How much '11 it cost ? " queried Phineas, 



192 THE HISTORY OP 

" Carn't say," responded John. "You're pooty bad. 
There 's nuth'n' in this country that '11 cure you. Hi '11 go 
hout to Hingland, if you say so, and hi can git somethin' 
there that '11 'elp you. It ar'n't to be 'ad in Ameriky, 
though." 

" Sho ! " exclaimed Barnum; "you don't say so ! Do 
you think, John, that we could find something in England 
that would knock 'em, here? " 

"Nothing else," replied John. " Hi know where they 
keep 'em." (John was raised in Great Britain.) 

"But, John," persisted Phineas, "there's Biimham, 
you know, of Boston. They say he has the best poultry in 
the world ; and I 've no doubt of it, between you and I." 

" Fudge ! " exclaimed John ; " Burn' am 's a very clever 
fellow, hi 've no manner o' doubt, and hi won't say nuth'n' 
ag'inst 'im ; but 'ee 's the wust 'umbug you ever see, since 
you 'ad breath. 'Ee don't know the dif 'rence 'tween a 
Shanghi and a Cochin-Chiny — an' never did. 'Ee 's a 
hum, 'is Burn'am. Don't go near hm, unless you want 
the skin shaved hoffo' yer knuckles, clean." 

"Well, John," said the show-man, " something must be 
done. I 've got the fever, bad, I 'm afraid, as you suggest ; 
and it must be fed. What can you do for me? " 

John thought the matter over, and it was finally agreed, as 
there were no good fowls in America (according to John's 
notions), that he should be deputized by Phineas to proceed 



THE HEN FEVER. 193 

to "Hingland," and procure some genuine (that is, pure) 
stock, for the coops at Iranistan, at the liberal show-man'"s 
expense ! A capital recipe, this, for Barnum's disease, as 
well as for John's own benefit. 

But Phineas is n't taken down easy, though they do occa- 
sionally " fetch him." And so he hesitated. He thought 
the matter over a while, and finally said to his friend, one 
day, 

"John, I've got it! " 

" 'Ave you ? " says John. 

" Yes, I 've got it. You know I 've something in my 
head besides grey hairs, John." 

" Hi 've no manner o' doubt o' that" replied John. 

" "Well, I have thought this thing over, and I have 
determined to see, first, what there is in America, before I 
send you out to Europe." 

" It '11 take you a long time to do that," said John, "and 
you 'd 'ave to travel a great w'ile to see all the poultry 
we 've 'ere." 

" I won't travel at all," said Phineas. 

" No ? As 'ow, then ? " inquired John. 

"I'll get up a show — a poultry exhibition — on a 
grand scale, and it shall come off at my Museum, at New 
York. Everybody '11 come, of course ; and we can see 
what there is, buy what I want from the best of 'em, and 
make our selections as we may fancy ; you shall go out 
17 



194 THE HISTORY OF 

afterwards to England, and obtain for me what I can't get 
here, you see." 

" Capital ! — hexellent ! " responded John. 

" And I '11 call it the — the — what ? " said Barnum, 
stopping for an appropriate title to this anticipated 
exhibition. 

" I donno," said John, puzzled. 

" Well — then — the National Show" continued Phin- 
eas. " How '11 that do ? The first exhibition of the 
' National Poultry Society.' I think that 's good. You 
see that includes all quarters of the country ; and we shall 
know no north, no south, no east, no west ! A quarter 
admission — Museum included — capital ! " 

"Yes — just the thing!" chimed in his friend. And 
shortly afterwards advertisements and circulars found their 
way into the hands of all the hen-men in the country, who 
were thus invited to visit New York, in February, 1854, 
to contribute to the grand show of the " National Poultry 
Society," of which P. T. Barnum, Esq.. was President. 

A long string of names was attached to this call, and 
the list of " Managers " embraced one or more representa- 
tives from every State in the Union — my own humble name 
appearing among the Vice-presidents for Massachusetts. 

The whole thing was clearly one of Barnum' s dodges to 
fill his Museum for a few days ; and probably not a single 
individual except himself had any knowledge of the forma- 



THE HEN FEVER. 195 

tion or existence of any such society as this, of which he 
thus nominally appeared to be the presiding officer. At any 
rate, after diligent inquiry, I could never ascertain that 
anybody knew anything about any such an association, 
except himself. 

However, this was a matter of no sort of consequence, of 
course. The Fitchburg Depot Show, in Boston, was a sim- 
ilar affair ; and I now joined in this exhibition without 
asking unnecessary questions, — because I saw that there 
was fun ahead, and that / could make an honest penny out 
of it, whether Barnum did or not. 

Every one now put his best foot foremost ; and, as this 
fair approached, Shanghaes were converted into Cochin- 
Chinas (by the knowing ones), by the removal of the 
feathers from the legs ; the mongrels were made feathered- 
legged Bother'ems, by the free use of gum-tragacanth and 
down ; the long-tailed fowls were deprived of all super- 
fluous plumes, through the aid of the pincers ; and what 
this last process did not satisfactorily effect, the application 
of the shears completed (see engraving !) ; until, at last, 
the unlucky bipeds, whom nature had originally supplied 
with decent caudal appendages, were reduced to that re- 
quisite state of brevity, astern, which the mode or the taste 
of the day demanded. And, at length, all was ready for 
the great " National Show " in Ne,w York city. 

As it turned out, the whole thing (though an utter sham 



THE HISTORY OF 




THE HEN FEVER. 197 

as regarded its being a society matter) proved to have been 
well conceived, and, from beginning to end, was admirably 
well carried out. Mr. Barmim did his part most creditably 
at this first show in New York, and the experiment was 
eminently successful. 

The birds were afforded excellent care, and an immense 
quantity of good specimens found their way to the Museum 
at the appointed time. For a week, notwithstanding the 
very dull weather, the great rooms of the American Museum 
on Broadway were thronged with visitors ; and Barnum was 
in high glee at the entire success of his undertaking. 

Not content with one week's show of the fowls, Barnum 
proposed that it should be continued for six days longer ; 
and the crowd continued to visit this exhibition for another 
week, and to pour in with their friends, their wives, their 
children, and their quarters, to the great edification and 
satisfaction of the proprietor of the show, and the " Presi- 
dent " of the " National Poultry Society. 5 ' 

I was there, with a goodly quantity of my " rare " and 
"unexceptionable" and "pure-bred" fowls, which were 
greatly admired by the thousands of lookers-on, who flocked 
to this extraordinary exhibition. It was really astonishing 
(to me, at least) what very fine birds I had at this show. 

And, " may be," fowls did n't sell there ! If I remem- 
ber rightly, "the people" were round, on that occasion. 
And so was I! 

17* 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

FIRST "NATIONAL" POULTRY-SHOW IN NEW YORK. 

Whether it was because Barnuni had taken this enter- 
prise in hand, whether it was because it was known that my 
"superior" stock was to be seen at the Museum, or whether 
it was because the intrepid " Fanny Fern" had promised to 
visit the show, I cannot say ; but one thing was certain, — 
Such a gathering of "the people" was seldom witnessed, 
even in busy, driving, sight-seeing New York, as that 
which crowded the great rooms of Barnums establishment 
on the occasion of the first exhibition of the so-called " Na- 
tional Poultry Society." 

"All the world" was there, with his wife and babies, 
and nieces and nephews. The belle and the beau, the mer- 
chant and the mechanic, the lawyer and the parson, the rich 
and the poor, old and young, grave and gay, — all were in 
attendance upon this extraordinary display of cockadoodle- 
dom ; and Barnum — the indefatigable, the enterprising, 
the determined, the incomparable Barnum — was in 'his 
glory, as the quarters were piled up at the counter of the 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 199 

ticket-office, and "the people" wedged their way up the 
crowded stairs and aisles of his Museum. 

The great show-man was as busy as His Satanic Majesty 
is vulgarly supposed to be in a snow-storm ! Now here, 
now there ; up stairs, down stairs ; in the halls, in the 
lobbies ; busy with John, button-holing the " committees," 
from morning till night. All smiles, all good-nature, all 
exertion to please the throngs of visitors who constantly 
jammed their way about the building. And, to say that 
everything about this undertaking (so far as he was person- 
ally concerned) was not managed with tact and good judg- 
ment, as well as complete propriety and liberality, would 
be to state what was untrue. Mr. Barnum rarely does 
anything by halves ; and to him, in this instance, belongs 
the credit of getting up, and carrying through successfully, 
the very best show of poultry ever seen in America, — 
beyond all comparison. 

In due season I selected from my then somewhat reduced 
stock sixty specimens of the Shanghae tribe of fowls, which, 
with some twenty samples of choice Madagascar Rabbits, I 
forwarded (in charge of my own agent) to this long-talked- 
of show. * 

The person whom I employed to look after my stock — 
(for I had long since got to be "a gentleman," and couldn't 
attend to such trifling matters, personally) — the man who 
went with it to this exhibition was thoroughly posted up in 



200 THE HISTORY OF 

his " profession," and knew a hawk from a handsaw, as 
well as a Shanghae from a Cochin-China. And when he 
started for New York with my contributions, I enjoined it 
upon him to bear in mind, under all circumstances, that 
the gentleman he represented had the only pwre-bred 
poultry in America, any way. To which he replied, 
briefly, 

< ' Is that all ? I knew that before. ' ' 

I said, "John, you're a brick. A faced-brick. A hard- 
faced-brick. You '11 doP 

John winked, and left me, with the understanding that, 
as soon as he should have time to look around the show, he 
would telegraph me at Boston what the prospect was, com- 
paratively. I felt quite sure that my fowls would take all 
the premiums, for they always had done so before ; and my 
"pure-bred" stock grew better and better every year! 

I did not go to the show for a day or two after my 
agent left ; and, on the morning succeeding the opening, I 
received from him the following brief but expressive tele- 
graphic dispatch : 

" G. P. Burnham, Boston. 

"Arrived safe ; thought we 'd got 'em, sure. We have 
— over the left. You are nowhar ! B." 

Here was a precious fix, to be sure ! For five years, I 
had carried away the palm at every exhibition where my 



THE HEN FEVER. 201 

■'splendid" and deservedly "unrivalled" samples had been 
put in competition with the stock of others. And now, at 
the first great national exhibition, where everybody would 
of course be present (and where the first cages that would 
be looked for, or looked into, must be those of Mr. Burn- 
ham, the breeder of the only original " pure "-blooded 
poultry in the country), according to my agent's dispatch 
I was nowhar ! 

This dispatch reached me at noon, and on the following 
morning I was in New York. I looked about the several 
apartments in the Museum, and satisfied myself who had 
the best fowls there, very quickly. As it happened, they 
were not inside of my cages, by a long mark ! 

Yet ' ' the people ' ' crowded around my showy coops, for 
which my agent had secured an advantageous position, and 
in displaying them (if I remember aright) he lost no oppor- 
tunity in saying just enough (and no more) to the throng 
who passed and admired their beautiful proportions, their 
great size, and splendid colors. There were not a few choice 
birds scattered about the rooms, — under the benches, or in 
the far-off corners, — which my eye fell upon, which my 
agent subsequently purchased at very modest prices, and 
which found their way, somehow, into my coops. 

"The people" now stared with more earnestness than 
ever. By the evening of the second day, my "pure-bred" 
stock did look remarkably well ! And when the "commit- 



202 THE HISTORY OF 

tee " came round, at last, I found myself the recipient of 
several of the leading premiums, for my "magnificent," 
"superb" and "extraordinary" contributions, again. And 
now commenced the fun, once more, in earnest. 

Everything that I sent to New York was quickly bought 
up at enormous prices. Fifty, eighty, a hundred, a hun- 
dred and twenty-five dollars per trio, was willingly paid my 
agent for the rare and incomparable fowls I exhibited there. 
" The people " were literally mad on the subject ; and I 
had n't half enough to supply my customers with, at figures 
that astonished even my ideas of prices, — which, by the 
way, were not easily disturbed ! 

During this exhibition, Mr. Barnum announced that a 
"conversational" gathering would be held, one day, in the 
lecture-room of his Museum ; whither the throng were in- 
vited to repair, at last, to talk over matters pertaining to 
the welfare of the trade generally, and the hen-humbug 
more particularly. 

A rush was directly made for this hall, which was 
quickly filled up by the multitude, who now stood or sat, 
with gaping mouths and staring eyes, in readiness to be 
further bamboozled by the managers of this National 
"Society," who duly paraded themselves upon the platform, 
and commenced to show themselves up for the edification 
of the uninitiated, and to the great amusement of those who 
had "been there" before them. 



THE HEN FEVER. 203 

Mr. Barnum presided, but with that grace and modesty 
and extreme diffidence for which he is so noted. The en- 
thusiasm of the occasion soon reached concert-pitch, how- 
ever, and everybody on the stage, in the parquette, and 
around the gallery, desired to relieve themselves of the 
pent-up patriotism that rioted in their bosoms ; and all 
desired to be heard at the same time. 

Cries of " Barnum ! Barnum ! " " Where 's Bennett ?" 
" Speech from Burnham ! " " Down in front ! " "Give 
'em a chance ! " " Hear the president ! — there he is ! " 
"Hurra for the Bother' ems ! " &c. &c, rang from the 
lungs of the crowd. And finally order was restored, and 
Mr. Barnum approached the front of the stage, to deliver 
himself of "feelings that could be fancied, not described," 
amid the cheers and shouts of that crazy multitude. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

barnum' s innate diffidence. 

As soon as the vociferous cheering had subsided, Mr. 
Barnum reached the foot-lights, and smiled beneficently 
upon the crowd before him. 

" Ladies and Gentlemen," said the show-man, mod- 
estly, " unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, you will 
pardon me, imprimis, for hinting at the extreme diffidence 
with which I now rise to address you ; and I am sure that, 
notwithstanding the commendable zeal that now animates 
this enlightened audience, you will sympathize with me in 
the midst of the embarrassments under which you must 
readily perceive I am laboring, and extend to the speaker 
your lenity (all unused, as you are aware he is, to this sort 
of scene), while he ventures upon a few very brief remarks 
on the interesting and laudably-exciting topic that has 
brought us together here, on this happy occasion." 

This modest appeal brought down the house, of course ; 
and the bashful Mr. B., after clearing his throat, was 
requested by the crowd to "Go on, Barnum ! Proceed — 
put 'er through ! " 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 205 

"The hen fever," continued Mr. B , "isbut just begun 

to be realized, ladies and gentlemen, among us." (Barnum 
had been attacked by the malady only a few weeks previous- 
ly, and hadn't "heard from the back counties" then!) 
" This first exhibition of the National Poultry Society, my 
friends, is ample evidence in support of this statement. 
Was there ever such a show seen, or heard of, ladies and 
gentlemen, as this which you are now the witnesses of? 
Never ! Yet, I repeat it, this is but the commencement. 
The enthusiasm which has attended upon this exhibition, the 
feelings that have been stirred up by this before unheard-of 
display, the people of every grade in society that come for- 
ward here in its support, the zeal which animates the bosoms 
of the thousands upon thousands who have attended it, and 
the names of the men connected with its origin and present 
patronage, afford ample evidence in support of my assertions, 
that the fire has but just begun — just begun to burn, fairly, 
ladies and gentlemen ! " (" That 's a fact," was the ready 
response of a young gentleman who had just paid my 
agent over three hundred dollars for a few samples of my 
" choice " chickens ; the first he ever owned !) 

" I" want to say a few words," remarked a stranger, 

under the gallery, at this point. But he was requested by 

the chairman to " hold in ! " until Mr. Barnum concluded. 

After considerable urging, this anxious man was prevailed 

18 



206 THE HISTORY OF 

upon to sit down ; though he was evidently " full to burst- 
ing," with his enthusiastic emotions. 

" We have a good deal to learn yet, gentlemen," con- 
tinued Barnum (and that was truthful, at any rate !) "We 
have much to learn ; but we know enough to spur us on to 
acquire more. More knowledge, more experience, more 
fowls. We haven't enough — we don't know enough, yet. 
I am greatly rejoiced at the prospects, to-day, and with the 
entire success of this enterprise, here ! " (And well he 
might be.) "I have freely given my time and humble 
talents to its consummation, and we have triumphed ! We, 
the people, the men who have the heart and the pluck to 
undertake and carry through this sort of thing. There 's 
no hum in this, gentlemen ! None, whatever. How can 
there be ? We see this thing before our very eyes. It is a 
tangible, living, breathing, walking, crowing " (and he 
might have added eating /) " reality, ladies and gentlemen. 
There can be no humbug in anything of this sort ; because 
we can take hold upon it, handle it. view it with our eyes 
open. A humbug is but an unexplained or half-concluded 
fact. This is a self-evident, clearly-defined fact — 

c A thing that is — and to be blessed ! ' 

And when you, or I, can take a crower in our hands that 
will weigh twelve or fourteen or fifteen pounds, — when we 
can see and feel him, — can there, by any possibility, be 
humbug in it?" 



THE HEN FEVEE. 207 

"No — no — no ! " shouted the crowd ; the ladies kindly 
joining in the decisive negative given to this forcible appeal. 

"Then, I repeat it, we are but just in the beginning of 
the commencement of this new and promising era. The fire 
has just begun to burn, and to illumine the world ; and, as 
I said before (or intended to say), it is not to be subdued ! 
It is a mighty conflagration, which assails everybody at this 
moment, and is now enveloping all classes of the community, 
from the highest to the lowest ! This land is in a blaze ! 
In a threatening, exciting, violent, whirling, astounding 
blaze, gentlemen — and no opposition or invention can put 
it out I" (" Fetch on your fire-'nihilators, then ! " shouted 
a vicious wag, from the gallery.) 

" We don't want to put it out," continued Mr. Barnum, 
growing warmer as the fire of his zeal in this cause contin- 
ued to glow within him ; '* we have no wish to put it out. 
Let it burn ! Let it come ! Let it conflagrate ! "We love 
it — you love it — 1" love it — it 's one of the things we 
admire to think of, and speak of, and read of, and pay for, 
and help to keep alive here, and everywhere, and elsewhere ! 
Our country is big enough; we have millions of broad acres, 
miles on miles of fertile fields, and cords of maize and grain 
that cannot be used or disposed of, unless it be devoted to 
the uses and benefits of these beautiful birds, sometimes so 
cavalierly spoken of by their enemies, but the value of which 
/ know, and most of you, gentlemen, know how to appre- 



208 THE HISTORY OF 

ciate ! " (Applause, and cries of " Go it, old hoss ! You '11 
be a capital customer for some of the hen-men to pick up ! 
Go it, Barnum ! ") 

"I did not rise, gentlemen," continued the speaker, 
" with any idea of telling you anything new. I am but an 
humble coadjutor with you in this pleasing and innocent 
undertaking. I can see, as you can, also, the importance 
of this subject" (he didn't say what "subject"), "and I 
trust that we may go on, and increase, and multiply domestic 
fowls and customers, in a ratio commensurate with the rapid- 
ly increasing throbs of the public pulse — which is now 
beating only at 2.40, and which must soon reach a 2.10 
pace, if nothing breaks!" ("Hurra! Hurra!" yelled 
the boys ; " that 's a good 'un ! ") And the President sat 
down, blushing, amid the uproarious applause that followed 
his remarks. 

As soon as order was comparatively restored, other gen- 
tlemen, whom the President introduced as " honorable," 
and "talented," and "professional," and "influential," 
took the rostrum, and "followed suit" upon Barnum's 
lead. 

A vote of thanks was finally passed to Mr. Barnum for 
his services, and the sacrifices he had made in behalf of the 
"Society;" another to the "orator" of the day (whose 
name I have now forgotten), formerly a member of Con- 
gress, I believe ; another similar vote to the Secretary, to 



THE HEN FEVEK. 209 

whom, also, a plated jug was subsequently presented; a 
vote to Mr. Burnham, of Boston, for his speech and his 
" magnificent " contributions of ^wre-bred stock ; a vote 
condemning everybody who had or should thenceforward 
nickname fowls ; a vote of condolence and sympathy with 
John Giles, because none of his "pure Black Spanish fowls 
were in the exhibition ; a vote to Porter, of the New York 
Spirit of the Times, for . his disinterested notices of the 
show ; another to Greeley, of the Tribune, who had n't time 
to visit it ; another to pay the bills of the " Committees " 
at the Astor House (minus the champagne charges !) ; 
another to Dr. Bennett, for not being present at this show ; 
another endorsing the claims of patent pill-venders and 
cross-grained bee-hive makers; another to Frank Pierce, 
for the allusions in his inaugural to the " march of prog- 
ress " in our land, which of course included Shanghae-ism ; 
another to Caleb Cushing (an honorary member), who was 
lauded as the most thoroughly graceless humbug known to 
the "national" society; another endorsing the collector and 
postmaster of Boston as disinterested democrats; another 
that my " Grey Shanghaes " were evidently the only full- 
blooded fowls exhibited at the American Museum on this 
occasion; and numerous other resolves were duly " voted," 
of which no note was taken at the time. 

While this bosh was transpiring, I sent to Boston for 
some fifty pairs more of my " superb " specimens of Shang- 
18* 



210 THE HISTORY OF 

liaes and Cochins, all of which were disposed of during the 
second week of this show, at curiously " ruinous " rates. 
And at the close of the exhibition my agent had taken 
very nearly three thousand dollars for the " pure " Shang- 
haes, and Cochins, and Greys, he had sold there for my 
account ! 

I trust that every one was as well satisfied with the re- 
sults of this first exhibition of the " National Poultry 
Society " as I was. It is the last show /shall ever attend. 
And having invariably taken the lead, from the beginning 
up to this trial, I retired, content with the self-assurance 
that I had made all I could make out of this sort of thing, " 
and that the field now legitimately belonged to my juniors 
in the profession. May success attend them ! 

At the close of the exhibition, my friend Barnum con- 
gratulated me. 

" They tell me you 've done ivell, Burnham," said my 
friend, cheerfully. " I 'm glad of it. And, since you've 
made it so handsomely, suppose you leave me a couple of 
your best Fancy Rabbits, yonder ; I '11 add them to the 
1 Happy Family.' " 

" Certainly," I replied. " With great pleasure, B . 

And, since you have done so capitally with this show, you 
shall give me a quarter of your profits on the tickets sold. 
Here — take the rabbits ! " 

" A-hem ! " said Barnum. " No — no. It 's no mat- 



THE HEN FEVER. 211 

ter. You need n't — no — we won't say anything about it. 
It ; s all right. You '11 do. You can run alone, I guess. 
/ believe I don't spell my name right ! Good-by — good- 
by." 

I have n't seen friend Barnum since. 

At this exhibition of poultry I managed to show a pair 
of my pure-bred Suffolk pigs, too, which did not set me 
back any. I took numerous orders for these animals, and I 
have given on page 174 what passes for a likeness of a 
fancy " Shanghae " fowl, such as we " read of in the news- 
papers," and which everybody, during the last five years, 
imagined he was buying, when he ordered "such," after 
seeing the " pictur'." 

In this class of illustration, there was quite as much 
deceit and chicanery practised, commonly, as in any part of 
the general system of the humbug. The uninitiated saw 
the well-rounded forms of the huge fowls or hogs he sought, 
in his weekly agricultural journal, from time to time ; and, 
through the same channel, he met with " portraits," repre- 
sented to have had originals at some time or other, and 
which were said to be in the possession of this or that 
breeder, who "had been induced, after earnest solicitation, 
to part with a very few choice samples," out of such imag- 
inary stock. With the swine, the thicker the ham, the 
smaller the feet, the shorter the nose, and the thinner the 



212 



TEE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 



hair, the better and the purer blooded pig you got, for 
instance ! 

The following is a sample of this kind of guy, which has 
had its run in the past three years, and upon which tens of 
thousands of dollars have been squandered by enthusiastic 
admirers of these bloated bladders of lard. This is sup- 
posed to be a likeness of the " genuine " 




i^ii^Hw!/ 



SUFFOLK PIG. 



The good old lady replied, when asked if she loved the 
Lord, " I donno much about him, but I hain't nothin' agin 
him ! " So I affirm in reference to this hog. But one thing 
I may be permitted to remark in this connection ; to wit, 
that the more pure Suffolk pigs there are, the less corn 
you find round. That 's all ! 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

A SUPPRESSED SPEECH. 

The following remarks, on the occasion referred to, were 
neither published at the time, nor would the " Committee on 
Printing" admit them into the official report of the proceed- 
ings of this national show. For what reason, I am utterly 
unable to determine. These were the author's sentiments, 
and I give the speech a place here, because I have no idea 
of being thus " headed " by my colleagues in that enter- 
prise. This speech was delivered by the Young 'Un " with 
emphasis and discretion ;" but the managers suppressed it. 
I now submit it, in the hope that it will be duly appreciated. 
When called upon, I said, as modestly and as gracefully as 
I knew how : 

" Mr. President : Vox populi, vox Dei ! The people 
assembled within the classic and well-painted walls of your 
American Museum call upon me for a few words of encour- 
agement ; and, while I assure you I find myself totally 
unprepared to speak (though my present address has been 



214 THE HISTORY OE 

written some four weeks), I cheerfully respond to the flat- 
tering demonstration that greets me on this electrifying 
occasion." (Applause, and waving of hats and handker- 
chiefs.) 

"lam but an humble disciple in this profession, Mr. 
President, and know very little of the deceit and chi- 
canery that some persons charge others with practising in 
the ramifications of the hen- trade ; and, although it has 
been said that ' what I don't know about this part of the 
business would n't be worth much to anybody,' yet I here 
solemnly disclaim any superhuman or supernatural knowl- 
edge of the tricks of this laudable and highly respectable 
calling." (Cries of " Good, good ! You're an injured 
man ! Go on ! ") 

" For six years, Mr. President, I have carefully watched 
the progress of this disease, and it really warms the recesses 
of my heart to find myself surrounded, as I do to-day, by 
the highly honorable and respectable throng of gentlemen 
who now grace this rostrum, — yourself, Mr. President, 
prominent among this galaxy of talent, education, genius, 
morality, and thrift ! " (Immense applause, during which 
the speaker removed his outside coat.) 

" The day is auspicious, Mr. Barnum, — I beg pardon — 
Mr. President. The spirit of liberty, — of American lib- 
erty, — sir, is abroad ! To be sure, our valued friends who 
pretend to Know Nothing (and whose pretensions none of 



THE HEN FEVER. 215' 

us here, I think, will gainsay) have commenced an on- 
slaught upon almost everything of foreign extraction ; but 
they kindly permit us to import Chinese fowls, and allow 
us to breed them — for the present, at least — without inter- 
ruption; for which I trust they may receive a unanimous vote 
of thanks from this American National Poultry Society. 7 ' 
("Yes, yes ! " followed this allusion, with hearty cheers.) 

" I repeat it, sir, — the times are auspicious. Money is 
a drug in the market, plainly. The patronage bestowed 
upon this show (in which, Mr. President, I am sure your 
native modesty and national patriotism cannot suffer you to 
feel the slightest personal interest) is evidence of this fact. 
The prices paid here, in 1854, for domestic fowls — though 
so clearly below their actual value ! — supports this assertion : 
and your own entire lack of backwardness in coming for- 
ward to assume the risk and responsibility of the expenses 
of this exhibition is the crowning proof that V argent is 
plenty — somewhere, at least. I have no disposition, Mr. 
President, — far be it from me — Heaven forbid that I 
should attempt — to offer one word of flattery, that you 
might, by any possibility, appropriate personally. No, sir, 
— I am no such man ! But, if ever there was an individual 
whose pure-bred disinterestedness, whose incomparable gen- 
erosity, whose astonishing sacrifice of self, stuck out like a 
sore thumb, these attributes have now been evinced, beyond 
the shadow of a shade of question, on this exhilarating occa- 



216 THE HISTORY OF 

sion, through the' astounding liberality of a gentleman, the 
initials of whose name are Finnyous Tee Barman ! " 
(Immense applause, during which the Young' Un laid aside 
his dress-coat, and took off his cravat, — while the President; 
with both hands over his face, sat overpowered with his 
emotions.) 

" Mr. President, I am no clap-trap orator. 1 shall say 
what I have to say, sir, to-day, without any hope or aim 
towards future reward. To be sure, I have the originals 
of the finest-blooded fowls in the land, and nobody disputes 
it ; and I have now a fine lot here to dispose of ; but this is 
not the time or place to allude to this matter ; and I will 
only say that I do not charge so much for them as many 
breeders do, while, at the same time, mine are very much 
finer and purer than anybody else's, as can readily be seen 
upon examining the contents of my cages, in the first room 
below this hall, on the right-hand side as you enter the 
building. The people, sir, are in search of information on 
this interesting subject ; and I will only add, gentlemen, — 
call as you pass out, and judge for yourselves." (Loud 
cries of " We will ! — we will ! " " That 's true ! " " That 's 
a fact ! " " Your fame is firmly established ! ") 

" Mr. President, I have been too long a resident of 
these United States — I am too old a citizen of this 
enlightened country — to be ignorant of the true character 
of the American people. I am a Yankee, sir ! My father 



THE HEN FEVER. 217 

was a Yankee, and my grandfather (if I ever had one, sir), 
before him. ' The people ' know what they are about. 
You cannot deceive them, sir, as you and I well know. 
When they undertake a thing, it must go forward. There 's 
no stopping them, sir. . They enter into any enterprise that 
promises so much of universal success to the whole country 
as does this business of poultry-raising, with a rush, sir ! 
And they carry out their objects, — nil disperandum hie 
jaeit est glorii mundi morning, sir, — as the poet re- 
marks." (Hurra! Hurra! "Three cheers for Burn- 
ham," suggested the President, which were given with a 
will ; and during which the speaker removed his vest and 
braces, — carefully securing his watch, however, at the 
same time.) 

"We are not here to be humbugged, sir, nor do we 
aspire to humbug anybody, at this exhibition ; — a perform- 
ance which would be rather difficult to effect, in my humble 
judgment, even if we did ! We come here to show the 
people what has been done, what is now doing, and what 
may be done again, sir, by our friends here, all of them 
and any of them, who choose to undertake the pleasing and 
delightful task of rearing pure-oved fowls. And, should 
there now be within the sound of my voice any lady or 
gentleman who has never seen the tiny Shanghae chick as 
it emerged from its delicate prison-shell and leaped forth 
into liberty and the glorious sunlight, — should any one of 
19 



218 THE HISTORY OF 

my listeners never have enjoyed the dulcet tone of that 
chicken's tender 'peep,' — if any of you are strangers to 
the habits and beauties and innocence of these rare but 
graceful birds, — if you have never listened to the melody 
of their musical crow, from youth to green old age, — I will 
only say, procure some of the genuine specimens, and there 
is much of joy and happiness yet in store for yourselves, 
your wives, your children, or your friends, — if you chance 
to have any." (Applause, and marked sensation.) 

" Mr. President, I am no speech-maker. Had I, for one 
moment, supposed that 2" should have been thought of, by 
this talented and well-informed audience, I should not have 
been present here, I assure you. But, sir, my fame pre- 
ceded me here. I 'm a poor but honest man ; and modesty, 
sir, that native modesty which so preeminently character- 
izes your own composition, Mr. President (had I suspected 
that I should have been called upon), would have prompted 
me to have left to others the pleasing task of speaking of 
me and mine. Still, if my friends c will buckle fortune on 
my back, whether I will or no,' I can only say that I feel 
impressed that the duty and moral obligations I owe to 
society compel me to submit to the burthen, with the best 
possible grace at my humble command." (Deep sensation 
among the audience ; the ladies, for the most part, in tears.) 

' ' But, sir, the future is before us ! The brilliant star 
of fortune still shines in the distance, for the encouragement 



THE HEN FEVER. 219 

of those who have not yet availed themselves of the splendid 
promise that awaits the men who are yet to come after us, 
to do as we have done ! And, to those who are now about 
to undertake the commendable occupation of attempting to 
breed ' fancy poultry,' I will only say, ' Go on, gentlemen ! 
Forward, in your delightfully pleasing and profit-promising 
ambition ! Purchase none but the best stock, without 
regard to price; and breed it (if you can!) Everybody 
wants to buy, — everybody will buy, — and the hens that 
lay the golden eggs are still for sale, within the sound of my 
voice (unless they have all been bought up since I entered 
this hall). But there are still a few more left, I have no 
doubt, gentlemen ; and, I charge you, seize them while you 
may ! ' " 

A general stampede followed my speech. I secured my 
clothes, and, for three hours afterwards, I found it impossi- 
ble to get within fifty feet of my show-cages, in consequence 
of the throng of purchasers that crowded around them ! 

There must have been some charm about those magical 
coops of mine. They were filled and refilled, twenty times 
over ; but they were as often emptied, and at singularly 
gratifying prices, both to buyer and seller. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

A "confidence" man. 

Towards the close of this show in New York, a 
somewhat noted cattle-breeder (who was then absent 
in England) wrote home to an agent in this country, 
directing him to secure all the Grey Shanghaes obtain- 
able, and further to contract for the raising of hun- 
dreds or thousands more, to be delivered during the 
following season. 

At this late day, such an undertaking appeared (to the 
initiated) to exhibit a most extraordinary confidence in the 
reality of the hen-trade; but, to those who "had been 
there," it was very amusing to witness the new-born zeal 
of this curiously verdant purchaser, who invested so large 
an amount of money, in 1854, in this hum ! 

The most extravagant prices were paid by this person 
for Grey fowls, and large orders were given by the agent, 
to different breeders, in New England, for future supplies. 
Several hundred birds were then purchased, at rates vary- 
ing from four or five dollars to fifty dollars each ; and 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 221 

finally some twenty cages were filled, and consigned to 
London, to be disposed of (as it was supposed) at enormous 
figures. 

This speculation was a total failure. The fowls were 
inferior, and sick, and worthless. An auction sale followed 
quickly upon their arrival in England, the proceeds of 
which failed to pay even their freight and expenses out 
from this country ; and the " confidential " proprietor of the 
stock, who had not the slightest conception of the details of 
the trade, was the loser of hundreds of dollars by this fool- 
ish and reckless undertaking. 

But his contracts with home breeders, who had raised 
for him one hundred, three hundred, or five hundred pairs 
of chickens, each, were yet in statu quo ! Two or three 
thousand Grey chickens were awaiting this confident gen- 
tleman's orders, and in the mean time were devouring hu°;e 

1 DO 

quantities of corn and meal, then ranging at from a dollar 
to a dollar and ten cents a bushel ! 

Sales were merely nominal ; buyers of fancy fowls were 
wowhar ; grain continued on the rise ; the chickens grew 
longer in the legs and necks, and devoured more corn 
than ever ; cold weather approached, and the breeders had 
no conveniences for housing these thousands of monsters; 
and finally the victims became importunate. 

The contractor did n't want the fowls. Of course he 
did n't. He had " put his foot into it " with a vengeance ! 
19* 



222 THE HISTOKY OF 

But the parties who had raised these birds " to order " 
insisted' upon the fulfilment of the contractor's promise to 
take them, at four, six and eight months old. 

But the confident gentleman, who, in the spring of 1854, 
had made up his mind that the "hen fever had but just 
then made its appearance, in fact," now discovered that the 
bottom had been shaky for a twelvemonth, at the least, and 
had at length fallen out altogether ! 

The folly of this enterprise was apparent to every fowl- 
raiser in New England, from the outset. But this man 
knew what he was about, — so he declared, — and he scouted 
the advice of those who, from long experience, were able to 
instruct and advise him better. It was but a single 
instance of its kind, however, and it served, for the time 
being, to aid in keeping up the excitement of the humbug 
which had cost so many men before him large sums of 
money, and months of labor and care, without the slightest 
subsequent compensation. 

By the fall of 1854, the price of this "fancy stock" 
began to approximate towards its intrinsic level, somewhat, 
in consequence of its being thus overdone; and very fair 
birds were offered for five to seven dollars the pair, with but 
few purchasers. 

In England, the fever had subsided. During the 
spring and summer, my own sales for that market had been 
continuously, and without any abatement, extremely liberal ; 



THE HEN FEVEK. 



223 



but the prospect suddenly became clouded — the demand 
fell off — and I saw that the gate was about to be shut 
down. 

The jig was nearly up, evidently, in December, 1854. 
In all the suburban towns of this state, and more especially 
throughout the entire length and breadth of Rhode Island 
and Connecticut, immense numbers of the Chinese varie- 
ties of fowls were being bred ; and I saw, months before, 
that the market must of necessity be glutted, to the 
full, in the winter that was then approaching. Many of 
the experienced fanciers still clung to the hope that the 
trade would rally again, however, — but I was satisfied that 
the engine-bell had rung for the last time, and that the train 
was already now on the move. 



M'M, 



rs^^^g^hmig*^ 




A " PURE-BRED SPECIMEN, IMPORTED PROM BRIGHTON 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE ESSENCE OF HUMBUG. 

During this and the previous years, some of the older 
fanciers and breeders had resorted to the most fulsome and 
nonsensical style of advertisements, to push off their stock 
upon the unguarded. No quality of superlative goodness, 
known or unknown, that could be described in the English 
language (either by means of "communications" through 
the public prints, or by ordinary forms of advertising), was 
omitted to be proclaimed by the owners of fancy stock, in 
order to force off upon the credulous or the uninitiated 
their " newly-imported " stuff, and its progeny. 

High-sounding but most ridiculous titles were given, by 
the nominal " importers," to their live stock ; and the pub- 
lic were asked to purchase "Hong-Kong" fowls, "Ben- 
gal Eagle" chickens, "Wild Indian Mountain" hens, 
" Whang- tongs," " Quittaquongs," " Hoang-Hos," " Pad- 
uas," etc. ; and the following advertisement appeared, 
finally, to cap the climax of this inexpressibly stupid non- 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 225 

sense. It was printed in an agricultural monthly, issued 
somewhere in western New York, and it ran as follows : 

"Mormann & Humm, Importers and Exporters of, and 
Dealers in, all breeds and varieties of Blooded Live Stock, 
Big Falls, 1ST. S. Messrs. Mormann and Humm are now 
perfecting their arrangements for importing from Europe 
and Asia all the best breeds of Horses, Cattle, Hogs, Dogs, 
Sheep, Rabbits, Goats, Fowls, &c. &c, and for exporting 
Buffalo, Elk, Deer, Moose, Badgers, Bears, Foxes, Swifts, 
Eagles, Swans, Pelicans, Granes, Loons, &c. &c. They 
will keep on hand, as near as may be, all the best Blooded 
Animals and Fowls — gallinaceous and aquatic — fancy 
and substantial — which they will furnish to their numer- 
ous patrons in Europe and America at reasonable rates. 
All orders should be directed to Big Falls, N. S., until oth- 
erwise notified. 

" Also, they have imported the finest and only Ptar- 
magins ever introduced into the United States. These 
surprisingly beautiful fowls are direct from the original 
stock. The Ptarmagins — white in winter and ash -colored 
in summer — booted and tufted — are the most unique of 
domestic fowls. They will supply orders for Ptarmagin chick- 
ens; also, Hoang-Hos, Imperials, Falcon-hocked Cochins, (!) 
and a large variety of Improved Suffolks and other fine 
hogs, from the choice stocks of His Royal Highness Prince 
Albert, His Grace the Duke of Beaufort, Lord Wenlock, the 
Earl of Radnor, late Earl of Ducie, Rev. Mr. Thursby, Mr. 
Garbanati, &c. &c. Also some choice Chinese Mandarin 
and Siamese hogs, &c. &c. &c." 

In this same pamphlet, appeared the annexed communi- 
cation (in the form of a letter to the nominal publisher), 
which will explain itself, probably, to those who are ac- 
quainted'with its hifalutin author. It was a rich " card," 



226 THE HISTORY OF 

in the estimation of the " boys," at the time of its first 
appearance, though nobody ever saw this extraordinary beast 
or its progeny. I imagine : 

Chinese Mandarin Hogs. 

" — , JSTov. 7, 1854. 

" Friend M : 

" We have just purchased the lot of Chinese Mandarin 
Swine, imported, &c. &c. &c. * * * 

"This is the best breed of China hogs, and are great 
favorites with the inhabitants, the meat being remarkably 
tender and fine-flavored. At maturity they Aveigh from 
fifteen to eighteen score, and are very prolific. 

"The head and face of these animals very closely 
resemble an elephant, both as to the appearance of the skin 
and ears, and the number and depth of facial fissures ; per- 
fectly unique, and strikingly oriental in capital aspect. 

' ' The neck is longer than that of anything of the hog 
race, imparting a most singular appearance to the propor- 
tions of the whole animal. 

" These Chinese hogs are entirely different from anything 
of the sort ever imported into this country before, and are 
the most prolific of the swine race. The imported sow and 
each of the sow-pigs have eighteen well-developed dugs. 
The number of well-defined dugs is always the best prima 
facie evidence of prolificness in any animal. 

"The bodies of these hogs are shaped like the white 
Berkshire breed of England. They take on fat with remark- 
able rapidity, and, in color, though not so spotted as the 
leopard, these hogs are beautifully striated, the body spotted 
like polished alabaster and ebony, checkered and rounded 
most exquisitely. 

"We shall have an engraving of these animals for the 
northern agricultural papers, and one of the great English 
periodicals. Yours, truly, k ." 



THE HEN FEVER. 227 

The editor adds, cautiously, "The importers are gentle- 
men of strict probity and honor, so far as our knowledge 
extends ; but, in these hurrying times, "when the public 
excitement is up on any kind of stock, a man may import 
and sell worthless animals, to a great extent, before a reac- 
tion can take place." 

ISTow, this sort of mush and moonshine very soon nau- 
seated upon the stomachs, of "the people." even; who 
ordinarily can (and will) patiently submit to a vast deal of 
mummery. But when such palpable bosh as this is placed 
before them, they are apt to dodge all association with it 
and its clearly-expressed humbuggery ; and so the tide now 
very quickly began to turn against the trade. " Brahmas," 
and " Quittaquong " fowls, and " Mandarin " pigs, proved 
too threatening a dose for the masses ! They had n't time 
to spell out the names of such stock — to say nothing of 
purchasing it, at round figures, and attempting to breed it 
afterwards. 

What those men imagined they could possibly effect by 
this sort of ridiculous nonsense, I am unable to conceive of. 
Yet it was put forth in sober earnest ; and scores of similar 
advertisements filled the papers, from time to time — each 
having for its object the continuous gulling of the " dear 
people," each in its own peculiar way. 

And for years — up to this period — the star-gazing, 
wonder-loving, humbug-seeking portion of the community, 



228 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

— the mass who fill every corner of the land, and who watch 
for something continuously "new under the sun," out of 
which money can be made, — I say, for years, this por- 
tion of the public believed what they saw and read of, and 
responded to this sort of thing with a gusto equalled only 
by the zest with which, in years before, they had encour- 
aged and supported the score of other "hums" that had 
been current around them. 

But the delusions of morus multicaulis, and Merino 
sheep, and patent bee-keeping, and Berkshire pigs, and 
tulip-growing, had passed away ; and the hen fever, at last, 
subsided, too. Unpronounceable names and long-winded ad- 
vertisements would n't do ! " The people " had ascertained 
that there was an end even to Shanghae and Brahma-ism ! 
And this flimsiest of all bubbles was now inflated fully to 
bursting;. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

A TRUMP CARD. 

Not to be beaten bj this sort of thing (since the 
columns of certain friendly journals were still open to me), 
I adopted the style of advertising then current ; and soon 
after the articles noted in the last chapter made their 
appearance in the "agricultural" paper alluded to, the fol- 
lowing letter from the Young 'Un was published in the 
New York Spirit of the Times, upon the subject of 
live stock generally, and what I had for sale particularly. 

" Uncle Porter: 

" During the last few years, I have turned my attention 
to trafficking in stock (as you may possibly already be 
aware). Not copper stock, or Reading, or Hoosac Tunnel, 
or similar 'bores,' — but in live stock; to wit, living stock. 
As is usual in this great and free country, other people have 
got to doing the same kind of business, since it has been 
now found to ' pay ;' and who 's a better right ? 

" / desire, at the commencement of the new year, 

through the Spirit, to call the attention of such of your 
20 



230 THE HISTORY OB 

friends (as you cannot supply readily) to my present assort- 
ment of ominus, omnivorous, carnivorous, graminivorous 
and bipederous specimens — which I have imported from 
Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceanica, South America, and other 
places ; and consisting, in part, of the following, namely : 

" All the best and choicest breeds and varieties of horses, 
cattle, swine, dogs, cats, sheep, rabbits, goats, fowls, 
pigeons, rats, catamounts, hyenas, alligators, cormorants, 
kangaroos, grizzly bears, antelopes, envelopes, llamas, lam- 
'ems, jaguars, fox and geese, kinkajous, petrel, periwinkles, 
long-tailed rabbits, Nubian fennecs, red eagles, condors, 
hooded ducks and hood-winked drakes, swifts, sloes 
(intended for 'fast' men and old 'fogies'), chamois, arma- 
dilloes, wingless emus, beadles, crabs, cranes, coons (bred 
from 'that same old 'un'), white zebras, macaws, catspaws, 
cantelopes, carbuncles and shuttle-sewing machines. 

" I also have, for exporting, a splendid assortment of buf- 
falo, elk, deer, moose, bears, cranes, owls, badgers, wood- 
chucks, swans, pelicans, gulls (genuine), rattle-snakes 
(domesticated), fighting hen-turkeys (from Iowa), larks 
(from Nauvoo), and a superior assortment of fishes, of 
every conceivable size, color and variety, which are war- 
ranted to live out of the water, in any climate. In short, 
I will keep on hand all the best ' blooded ' animals, fowls, 
quadrupeds, fishes, reptiles, insects and birds, — be they 
gallinaceous, aquatic, aerial, fancy, substantial, good, bad 



THE HEN FEVER. 231 

or indifferent, that may be had ; which I will furnish to 
my numerous friends, patrons, and the rest of mankind, in 
Europe, Asia, Africa or America, at all hours of the day or 
night (Sundays excepted) ; and at prices so reasonable that 
Christendom shall ' vote me ' a philanthropist, or no sale. 

" Among my most recently received samples, I beg espe- 
cially to call the attention of fanciers, amateurs and breed- 
ers, to a ' vaggin-load of monkeys, vith their tails burned 
off,' which I warrant will not frighten the most skittish of 
horses. A crate of she-basilisks, of most virtuous exteriors, 
and with eyes as large as saucers. Eleven pet elephants 
(intended to have been offered to Mr. Barnum, but who 
informs me that he has done breeding them, on account of 
the high price of provender). One pair of red ostriches. — 
supposed to be the original progenitors of the famous ' Co- 
chin-China ' race of poultry. (The male has a ' horse-shoe 
mark ' upon his breast, described by certain modern authors 
on poultry. Unluckily for this theory, however, I happen 
to know that this individual was kicked by a mare of mine, 
while the beauty was skulking behind her, and attempting 
to rob her of the corn she was eating from her crib.) I have 
a trio of very healthy walruses, from Norway, that will eat 
snowballs from your hand. Also, a brace of young masto- 
dons, very docile, and as easily kept, almost, as a trio of 
' Brahma Pootras.' Three green swans (delightfully green), 
that never seek for or approach the water ; supposed not 



232 THE HISTORY OF 

yet to have learned to swim. I have also in my collection 
a family of very curious chameleons (believed to be), but 
none of which are supplied with the usual caudal extremity 
yclept a tail. 

"My friend Durivage — who, as you are aware, is now 
in the Boston Custom-house, and whose opinion, conse- 
quently, isn't worth much — examined this family, and at 
once pronounced them hop-toads ! But I don't mind his 
jokes. You must see them. They are beautiful creatures, 
and ' do live on air,' I assure you ; I have seen them do it 
frequently, without changing color. Dr. Bennett, of Fort 
des Moines, has recently sent me a fine male porcupine, — 
a nice little fellow to handle, so long as you rub his feathers 
the right way, — which I purpose to cross upon my Chinese 
Mandarin sow, at a future day, for experiment. In addi- 
tion to all these, I have, of fowls, the Mum-chums, Hong- 
KongSj Whamphoas, Quittaquongs, Hoanghos, Bramapoot- 
ers, Damphules, Rocky-mountain-Indian-wharhoops, Nin- 
compoops, etc., and an endless variety of white blackbirds, 
sleeping weasels, very fine mules (for breeding), fan-tail 
tumblers and tumbling fantails, no-woolled sheep, etc. etc., 
and so forth. 

"The principal object of this communication, however, is 
not to particularize my stock, but rather to call attention 
to my new breed of Hogs, which I have lately imported ; 
and of which I send you a striking likeness herewith. I 
call it the Chinese Mandarin H02:. 



THE HEN FEVEK. 



233 







234 THE HISTORY OF 

"The drawing of this very faithful and life-like picture 
— copies of which I have already forwarded to Punch, 
the Paris Charivari, etc. — was executed by Phizz ; the 
engraving is by Quizz ; the portraits are perfect. 

" This breed of hogs is most extraordinary; and has been 
pronounced of great value for their beautiful model (see 
portrait), and easy fattening qualities. Their meat is also 
remarkably tender and fine-flavored, as can be proved by 
several gentlemen in this country, although this is the first 
hog of the kind ever brought here, and she is now alive ! 
As you will note in the drawing, the head and face of these 
hogs (supposing it possible that another could be found on 
God's footstool of the same kind) very closely resemble an 
elephant ; perfectly unique, and strikingly oriental in capi- 
tal aspect. (Which, if you do not understand, I can only 
say is plain English, and I must again refer you to the pic- 
ture.) There is another singular feature, you will probably 
have observed (allowing that you are somewhat acquainted 
with the ordinary formation of animals), and that is, that 
the trunk of this animal is upon the wrong extremity ; but 
it answers, apparently, a very good purpose for a tail, as 
will be noted. True, the neck is longer than that of any 
hogs ever seen here, imparting a singular appearance ; but 
it is a long lane that has no turn in it, and so n? import e on 
this point. 

" This is the most prolific of the whole swine raoe. 



THE HEN FEVEB. 235 

There never was one in America before, but this point is 
settled. She has eighteen dugs (see portrait), and learned 
doctors inform us that the number of dugs (teats) is always 
evidence of prolificness. The bodies of these hogs are like 
the white ' Berkshires ' of England (admitting that the 
white and the black Berkshires have different-shaped 
bodies). In color, though not so spotted as the leopard, 
these hogs are beautifully striated, like polished alabaster 
and ebony, checkered and rounded (see drawing) most ex- 
quisitely, like a slice of mouldy sage cheese. 

"P. S. Although I am now short — or shall be, in the 
spring — full eleven thousand pairs of pigs, from this sow 
(to fill present orders), yet I will undertake to furnish a 
few more to gentlemen who may fancy them, at the ad- 
vanced price, — seven-and-sixpence per pair. (I have no 
boa?' of this breed, but that is immaterial.) 

" N. B. I have frequently been asked to account for the 
singular facial appearance of this sow ; but I can only do 
so, satisfactorily to myself, upon the theory of my friend 
Jacob, of old ; that, at some time or other, her mother 
must have ' seen the elephant ' ! 

"*%.* The other figures in the accompanying drawing 
are likenesses, also from life, of my harmless and beautiful 
{ Bramerpootrers.' They are very fond of little children 
(see picture), and I send to my uncle William Porter, 
herewith, as a New Year's Gift to our mutual friend, Solon 



236 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

Robinson, a very fine sample, with the gentle hint that if 
he keeps his ' Hot Corn ' as far out of this fellow's reach 
as it has thus far been out of mine, it will be perfectly 
safe. 

' ' tCj 3 All orders for my famous ' Bramerpootrers, ' or my 
imported ' Chinese Mandarin Hogs,' etc., must be put in 
water-proof condition, post-paid, endorsed by the collector 
of this port, and sent, by Adams & Co.'s Express, to Nia- 
gara Falls, until I conclude to remove to Salt Lake, 
Nebraska, or 'elsewhere,' of which due notice will be given 
(provided I don't decide to 'step out' between two days). 
Adios ! Yours, 

" The Young 'Un. 

"Boston, Jan., 1854." 

Now, the above letter explains itself fairly, upon its face ; 
yet — would it be believed? — I actually received four or five 
sober (I joreswnie the writers were sober) letters of inquiry, 
relating to the "curious and remarkable Chinese Mandarin 
Hog in my possession," immediately after the above article 
appeared in the Spirit ! Such are the knowledge and 
acquirements of "the people," in certain quarters, upon the 
subject of live stock ! 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

"hold tour horses." 

My competitors in the hen-trade, by this time, had got 
to be exceedingly active and zealous, though they rarely 
indulged in personalities towards me, at all. Generous, 
disinterested, liberal, kind-hearted, valiant men ! Provi- 
dence will reward you all, I have no doubt, some day or 
other ! 

The following article, which appeared in a "respectable" 
agricultural sheet (which, though I was solicited so to do, 
I neither subscribed for nor advertised in), I offer here as a 
sample of the puffs that were extended to me for five years, 
by the small-fry humbugs whom I rarely condescended to 
notice. This "elegant extract" appeared in a northern 
Farmer : 

"We did suppose that the strait-jacket we fitted to 
this fellow (Burnham) would be worn by him, but it ap- 
pears that, on reading our article relative to his movements 
in England in regard to Grey Shanghae fowls, he cast it 
off, and made an attempt to put us hors du combat, in his 
usual style. 



238 THE HISTOET OF 

" But we must say that his pretensions to being an 'im- 
porter ' of these fowls, to having the ' original ' stock, to 
being the importer of the fowls he sent to England, is the 
greatest deception that ever came under our observation. 
But this is only in character with the general transactions 
of the man. In his dealings generally he seems to have 
had no other object in view but to get all he could for his 
fowls, with no regard to their merits. This is shown by a 
letter of his, which we have in our possession, written in 
1852 to Dr. Bennett, in which he uses the following lan- 
guage, in regard to fowls : ' Anything that will sell. — 
bah!' 

' ' We will take the liberty to digress a moment, to make 
a few remarks on his penchant for the use of the expression 
' bah ! ' which is his common habit in correspondence. When 
Burnham was a loafer at large, previous to his foul specu- 
lations, it is said that he was very fond of mutton ; and 
as many a fat lamb was missed in the vicinity where he re- 
sided, it was more than suspected that he knew what became 
of them. Whether this be so or not, it seems that l bah ' is 
ever escaping from his lips, a judgment, as it were, for the 
alleged iniquity of disturbing the nocturnal peace of that 
quiet animal. * * * * 

•' Now, friend Burnham, do be civil and honest. Your 
having sold ' premium ' Cochins all over the country, with 
the real ' premium ' fowls in your own yard, will soon be 
forgotten, and you may yet be considered a clever, honest 
fellow ; but you must stop pretending to be an ' importer ' 
of fowls." 

I was thus charged with putting my "friend" hors du 
combat, with lying generally, with sheep-stealing, with 
selling "premium" fowls over and over again, as well as 
with striving to get all I could for my poultry, — this 
last offence being the most heinous of all ! But, as I lived 



THE HEN FEVER. 239 

(as I supposed I should) to see this cub and his allies on 
their knees to me (as I could show, if I desired to do so, 
now), I did not mind these first-rate notices. They were 
most decidedly of miner consideration in my esteem, when 
I thought how " the people " crowded around me to 
obtain eggs or samples of my famed "imported," "supe- 
rior," "magnificent" and "never-to-be-too-much-lauded" 
pure-bred fowls ! 

In the official Report upon the first New York show, the 
Committee of Judges there state that, "though they have 
been governed by the nomenclature of the list, they by no 
means assent to it as a proper classification. Shanghae and 
Cochin-China are convertible terms, and Brahma Pootra 
is a name for a sub- variety of Shanghaes, of great size and 
beauty. White Calcuttas and Hong-Kongs were not on 
exhibition. Believing them to be inferior specimens of 
White and Black Shanghaes, it is likely that we would not 
have awarded them premiums, if found. In lieu thereof, 
we have assigned several additional second premiums for 
Brahma Shanghaes. 

" For the sake of simplicity, we would recommend that 
all thorough-bred large Asiatic fowls be classed under the 
name of Shajighae, to be further designated by their color; 
and, inasmuch as these shows are intended not solely for 
the aggrandizement of breeders, but for the purpose of 
converting ' Henology ' into a science, we would earnestly 



240 THE HISTORY OF 

suggest that all ridiculous, unmeaning aliases be abandoned, 
and a simple, intelligible and truthful classification strictly 
observed." After quoting this, the writer above alluded to 
objects to the recommendation to call all Asiatic fowls 
Shanghaes, notwithstanding the action of the Committees 
of the National Society. He insists : 

" This is a ridiculous affair, and we call on fowl-breed- 
ers to veto this nonsense at the outset. Just imagine 
what a ridiculous figure breeders would cut in calling their 
fowls ' Brahma Shanghaes,' ' Chittagong Shanghaes,' &c. ! 
Why this desire to overturn established names ? It arises 
from a prejudice against the name 'Brahma Pootra,' and 
a desire to put down that popular breed. Again : Who are 
the gentlemen who recommend such a course ? Why don't 
they give their names ? These ' recommendations ' and 
' resolutions ' are no more the act of the National Poultry 
Society than of the Emperor of Russia ! Where were the 
forty managers when the above ' resolution ' was passed ? 
We, as one, were not there ; and we learn that not over 
three out of the entire number were present, and that the 
resolution was passed by outsiders, and, perhaps, influenced 
to do so by G. P. Burnham, of ' Grey Shanghae ' noto- 
riety." 

This clown even " regrets that he did not attend this 
show ;" as if it would have made a difference in the result ! 
Well, well ! — the impudence and ignorance of some people 
really astound us, at times ! He says " some of the best 
Brahma Pootra fowls were entered ' Chittagongs.' Now, 
we declare emphatically that the desire on the part of cer- 



THE HEN FEVER. 241 

tain breeders to class the Brahmas as identical -with the 
Chittagong fowl is absurd ; and we assert that no man can 
produce any evidence that the Brahmas are identical with 
Chittagongs, beyond the fact that many breeders have pro- 
duced mongrels, by crossing Brahmas with Chittagongs, and 
now seek to amalgamate the two breeds." 

Who ever wished to "produce any evidence " on this 
subject, pray ? '•' The people " wanted foiols ; they never 
sought for " evidence," man ! The breeder who could 
" produce " fowls was the man to succeed in the hen-trade. 
As you never did this, and only bought and sold wretched 
mongrels, with long names, you never succeeded. And 
" the people " said, u Served you right ! " 

This sapient editor then declares that he " doubts the 
ability of any Poultry Society to maintain its existence 
permanently, for the reason that such societies will, sooner 
or later, degenerate into mere speculating cliques, and the 
premiums will become a matter of barter, or a matter of 
favor to particular men, like the operations of our govern- 
ment." 

Is it possible ! When did you discover this extraordinary 
and singular fact, my dear sir ? Not until the close of the 
year 1854 ! After the cars had long since passed by, and 
the fun was over, effectually and forever, in this country. 
Your warning was valuable, indeed ! The colt had left the 
stable, and you now come to fasten the door ! 0, chief of 
21 



242 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

prophets in Henology ! how much " the people " owe you 
for your advice and foresight in this hum ! 

This writer finally thus wriggles over the action of the 
"National" Society at New York, which knocked his 
" Bother'ems " on the head so effectually, substituting their 
true name (the " Grey Shanghaes ") for this ridiculously 
assumed cognomen. He continues : 

<{ The most absurd thing which came under our observa- 
tion at the fair was the classification of certain fowls. 
There were the beautiful white Brahmas, with pencilled neck 
hackles, placed by the side of fowls of an owl or hawk 
color, and both classed ' Grey Shanghaes V How long 
will a few old fogies thus stultify themselves ? Many 
exhibitors were highly displeased with this absurdity. They 
who think that the name of Brahma fowls can be changed 
to ' Grey Shanghaes ' have entirely mistaken their ability 
to make such an innovation. What did all the nonsense in 
the resolutions passed at the National Poultry Show in New 
York about the nomenclature of fowls effect ? Just nothing 
at all." 

Indeed ! Did n't it ? Is it possible ? You don't say 
so ! My dear friend, you have a great deal to learn yet ; 
and I here advise you, affectionately and lovingly, and with 
an ardent desire for your present and future good, to — 
" hold your horses ! " 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

TRICKS OF THE TEADE. 

Poultry exhibitions had been or were now being held 
all over the country. In the New England States, in New 
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, numer- 
ous fairs had come off, at which the customary competition 
among breeders of fancy poultry had been duly shown ; and 
for a time, yet, out of Massachusetts, the fever still raged, 
though with comparative abatement. 

It was now a common thing, and certain men were in the 
habit of visiting the express offices, and examining coops of 
fowls, and taking the names of the persons to whom they 
were directed, and then writing them that they would furnish 
such fowls at a much cheaper rate. This occurred, gener- 
ally, while the stock was en route to its destination ; but it 
never disturbed me. 

Among the Rhode Islanders (who, by the way, generally 
speaking, have raised the best of all the Chinese varieties 
of fowls, for five years past) a feeling of desperate rivalry 
had grown up. At the Providence shows, many of the 



244 THE HISTORY OF 

choicest specimens ever seen among us were exhibited and 
disposed of at high rates. But the management of the fairs 
there was not satisfactory to certain breeders, who, unfor- 
tunately, and naturally, drove rather " too slow coaches " 
to keep pace with a few of the leaders in the traffic there, 
as will be seen by the following expose, which I find in the 
shape of an advertisement in the Woonsocket Patriot : 

In a report published subsequently to this State Fair in 
Rhode Island, the Committee on Poultry at the exhibition 
held there in the fall of 1854 awarded their first premium 
to the chairman of the committee. The second premium 
was awarded to another man, who had just as good fowls, 
probably, but who was n't smart enough to "keep up " with 
his competitor. The person who came out thus second-best, 
only, at once charged, through the public prints, that an 
attempt had been made by the chairman thus " to hoodwink 
the public" in their future purchases (which was very 
likely, because it was a very common matter). The injured 
party says, in his published " card," — 



' ' No doubt Mr. C was ready to grasp at the ap- 
pointment as the committee, and he was progressing in the 
examination, when I remonstrated, and had two other men 
added to the committee with him, supposing that justice 
would then be administered to the parties concerned. But 

Mr. C was determined to have the sole arrangement 

of the report, contending with the other two upwards of 
five hours, aggrandizing to himself the first premium, and 



THE HEN FEVER. 245 

then affixing to the committee's report the name of Mr. 

A , instead of his own, to deceive the public, that he 

was not interested. Mr. C intended that justice should 

not be done his competitor, by withholding his right as to 
the first premium ; and I challenge him to an impartial exhi- 
bition of the poultry (although some of his number were 
borrowed), for the sum- of one hundred dollars, to be de- 
cided by three disinterested men." 

Another member of this committee then states that, 
"being one of the Committee on Poultry at the late State 
Fair, held in Providence, R. I., and having seen the report 
of the same, I feel it my duty to say that such was not the 
decision of the committee. Two were in favor of giving 

to the Jirst premium : as we could not agree, we 

decided to award a premium of tioelve dollars to . 

also the same to Mr. C , provided each were repre- 
sented equal in the report." 

Now, this was a very trifling affair to trouble the public 

with, yet it shows " how the thing was done." Mr. C 

had a happy way of '• laying 'em all out," when /was not 
in the field. If the advertisements " to the public " were 
paid for duly (and I presume they were), I have no doubt 

the public are satisfied ; and Mr. , the injured party, 

must keep his eyes open tight, if he trains in company with 
experienced hen-men. This is but " a part of the system," 
man ! 

Now, as this sort of thing was of very common occur- 
rence among the hucksters who kept the hen-trade alive, for 
21* 



246 THE HISTOKY OF 

years, this was in nowise a matter of astonishment to the 
" hard heads " in the business. The only wonder was that 
the man who performed this trifling trick did not carry out 
the dodge more effectually, and bear away all the premiums 
in a similar manner, as had been done by some of his 
smarter predecessors ! 

The editor of a New York journal undertook as follows 
to "inform the public " (in 1854) of a little performance 
in kind, which had been common for several years at these 
fairs where " premiums " were awarded, and which proved 
a very profitable mode of operation, almost from the very 
beginning of fowl-shows in the United States. In an article 
upon a recent exhibition, under the caption " How the 
Cards are Played" he says : 

" A fowl-breeder, by extraordinary means, raises a few 
specimens of fowls of great size, which he takes to the 
exhibition ; and, on the appearance and character of those 
few specimens, he contracts to furnish fowls and eggs of 
the ' same stock.' He goes home with his pockets full of 
orders, and with not a single fowl, for sale, in his posses- 
sion at the time, and hastens to purchase of A, B and C, 
such fowls as he can find, say at $8, $5 to $10 a pair, 
which he sends to fill his orders at $20 to $50 a pair, and 
no nearer in value to the stock that appeared on exhibition 
than a turkey is to a turkey buzzard ! The same of eggs. 
Now, there are exceptions to this allegation, but we know 



THE HEN FEVER. 247 

that such things are done, and we think that the public 
should be put on their guard." 

There is no question about the accuracy of this statement. 
The writer says he " knows that such things were done ; " 
and I feel sure that no. man in New York State ever knew 
the details of this dodge so well as he did. It was a very 
common thing everywhere, however, among the hucksters. 
I had no occasion to resort to this plan ; for the game we 
played was a deeper one, altogether. 

There was a "live Yankee," all the way from Rhode 
Island, who attended the New York show, who took the 
boys down there after the following style, as appears from 
another advertisement, which I recently met with, and 
which feat is thus described by one of the sufferers. In a 
" card " published soon after that exhibition, this victim of 
misplaced confidence says, with a show of seeming injured 
innocence : 

"Justice to the public, as well as myself, demands a 
slight explanation of a few facts connected with the recent 
National Poultry Show, in New York City. 

"Mr. C , of Woonsocket, R. I., accompanied me to 

New York for the purpose of attending the fair. On the 
fourth day of the exhibition it was announced that the 

judges were about to commence their labors. Mr. C , 

seeing that his chance for a premium of any kind on Asiatic 
fowls was very slim, came to me and requested, nay, even 
insisted, on grounds of mutual friendship, that I should 
put my two best hens with a cock of his, for the purpose of 
taking the first premium. I finally consented, with the ex 



248 THE HISTORY OF 

press understanding, and no other, that we should each 
share the honors and proceeds equally. On Friday it was 
announced, in the lecture-room, that he had taken the first 
premium on the best pair of Asiatic fowls, of whatever sub- 
variety. I went to him, at once, and expressed my dissat- 
isfaction, and reminded him of his agreement. He then 
agreed to see the secretary and all the reporters, and pub- 
lish, or cause to be published, a card, stating that I was 
equally entitled to the premium with himself, as the hens 
were raised by me ; and he furthermore agreed that his 
name should not be mentioned or published, in relation to 
the premium, except in connection with my own. How was 
that agreement fulfilled ? On taking up one of the New 
York dailies the next morning, I was surprised to see a puff 

laudatory of Mr. , while my name was not alluded 

to, — which puff, report says, was paid for with a rooster. 
On my return home, a few days afterwards, I found that he 
had volunteered to make the following assertions : ' Well, 
I have laid 'em all out. I took the first premium on every- 
thing, best pair and all, and I can beat the world.' When 
asked how it was done; he said, 'I will tell you, some time, 
how I played my card.' " 

But Mr. C , with that reserve and indifference 

peculiar to gentlemen in the hen-trade who have accom- 
plished a " neat operation," did not see fit to explain the 
process, and hesitated to inform his " friend" how he 
played his card. And so the aggrieved party resorted to 
the newspaper, and come the "power of the press" 
upon Mr. C , as follows : 

"Mr. stated that my stock was 'mongrel,' and 

inferior. Whether it be so or not, is for the thousands and 



THE HEN FEVER. 249 

tens of thousands who saw them, while on exhibition, to 
judge. After selecting two of my best hens for Mr. 

C 's especial benefit (as it appears), the committee even 

then saw fit to award me a premium, while his two coops 
of 'pure, full-blooded Asiatic fowls,' which he had cracked 
up so loud and extensively, did not receive, as I can learn, 
even a passing notice, except the old cock, which was put 
in the coop with my ' mongrel hens,' as he is pleased to 
call them. Perhaps the public would also be gratified to 
learn the manner in which he obtained the first premium at 
the recent Agricultural Eair in Providence, E. I. Was it 
not done by entering several coops of fowls, belonging to 
another person, in his own name, without that person's 
knowledge and consent, and pointing out those fowls to 
one or more of the judges, representing them as his own ? 
No doubt the books of the society, and those of the railroad 

corporation which conveyed Mr. C 's poultry to and 

from the fair, if compared, will throw some light upon the 
subject. Is not this the manner in which he has frequently 
played his card ; or, in other words, ' laid 'em all out' ? 
As I have always treated him as a gentleman, a neighbor 
and friend, to what cause can I impute this low, mean 
contemptible and underhand manner of exalting himself at 
my expense ? I would advise him, in conclusion, to peruse 
iEsop's moral and instructive fable of the ambitious Jackdaw, 
and learn from that, that however well a course of decep- 
tion and duplicity may at first prosper, the day of exposure 
and disgrace will come, and the ungainly Jackdaw, stripped 
of his ill-gotten plumage, will stand forth in all his native 
blackness and deformity." 



Now, I have no doubt, that this Mr. C , when he 

read the above "card" (which must have cost its author 
considerable time and money), felt very badly about it, the 



250 THE HISTORY OF 

more especially as the show-prizes had been duly announced, 
and he had the premium-money safely in his own pocket ! 
And it certainly must have been a very gratifying circum- 
stance, to the man who had been thus duped, to see his ad- 
vertisement thus in print, too. Had / been similarly situ- 
ated, however, after losing my premium and the credit that 
belonged to my having had the best fowls on exhibition, 
also (only by thus joining issue with another to gull the 
" dear people "), I rather think I should not have published 
the facts, to show myself up a fool as well as a knave. But 

this is merely a matter of taste. Mr. B , who signs 

this "card," will scarcely be caught in this way again. 
We "live to learn." 

Mr. B had not become apprised of the fact that, 

from the very commencement, the hen-trade was a huge 
gull, possessing an unconscionable maw, and most incon- 
ceivable powers of digestion. Older heads and wiser men 
than he had been duped or swallowed by this monster, that 
stalked about the earth for six long years, seeking whom he 
might devour. If this is the worst treatment he ever ex- 
perienced at the hands of those who helped to feed the 

vampire, Mr. B is, indeed, a fortunate man. There 

be those who would gladly exchange places with this gentle- 
man, and give him large odds. 

C was smart. I have known him for several years. 

He is one of the few " hen-men " whom I would trust alone 



THE HEN FEVER. 251 

with my purse. And whether he raised them, or purchased 
them, it matters nothing ; he has sold some of the best fowls 
in America. 

In all human probability, the author of the "card " last 
quoted will live long enough (unless he shall have already 
stepped out) to know that " the people " went into the hen- 
trade blindfolded, and that the bandages have now dropped 
from their eyes. He will have ascertained, too, I think, that 
a resort to the newspapers for redress against such of his 
"friends" as may get ahead of his time in this way is 
precious poor consolation, when he reflects that advertise- 
ments cost money, and that the anathemas of an over- 
reached chicken-man have never yet been known to harm 
anybody — as far as heard from ! Selah ! 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

FINAL DEATH-THROES. 

The officers and the judges at the poultry-fairs (most of 
whom are self-constituted), as will be seen, usually carried 
away all the first prizes. At a late show of the New York 
Slate Society, the president thereof received about one 
third of all the premiums awarded, and yet his fowls were 
nearly all second and third rate, and not one of them, 
it was stated, was bred by him: He may have bred a few 
specimens during last season, but not one on exhibition 
was bred by him. The people and certain greenhorns were 
astonished to see the way in which the premiums were 
awarded to him. One of the judges there seemed deter- 
mined to award to him every premium that his influence 
could secure, right or wrong ; and, from what was learned 
from exhibitors, it did look very much like an exist- 
ing understanding between the parties in regard to the 
premiums. 

For the above statement we have the authority of a huck- 
ster in New York, who did not obtain any premiums, and 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 253 

who says of the management of the state show there, that 
this sort of partiality shown in favor of the wire-pullers " is 
the rock on which the ' New England Poultry Society ' 
foundered ; and our state society is treading in the foot- 
steps of its 'illustrious predecessor.' " 

This writer contends that the president of the New 
York society, who thus received about all the premiums at 
one of their late shows, was a man of too much discernment 
not to see that such a farce as some of the judges played 
would redound to his discredit. They went too far — over- 
did the matter ; hence the universal indignation of exhibitors. 
And then concludes that "poultry-societies generally merge 
into mere speculating gatherings, a feio receiving most of 
the premiums, while the uninitiated exhibitor is made a tool 
to swell the income of those who pull the wires. Many 
breeders exhibit solely for the sake of the notoriety that 
their fowls will receive, — a sort of gratuitous advertising," 
— and it is now got to be " notorious that an order sent to 
one who receives the first premium for fowls is no more 
likely, in many cases, to be filled with any better fowls 
than if sent to one who took no premium at all; as the prize 
fowls are not often for sale, and very inferior specimens are 
sent when orders are received." 

This information would have answered very well, had it 
been afforded years ago. Now that the fever has disap- 
peared almost entirely, and now that everybody has been 
22 



254 THE HISTORY OF 

gulled, and gouged, and gorged ', with the fulsome and glow- 
ing accounts of the asserted reality of this thing, from 
the pen of this very man among the rest, it comes rather 
late in the day for such an one to " warn the people," and 
in such a manner ! 

But, soon after the exhibition above referred to had 
closed, the president of the society issued a most astound- 
ing " card," declining to receive the premiums awarded 
him, and in which appears the following sentence : 

"In connection with the report of the Judges of the 
late State Poultry Show, allow me to make a statement. 
As appears from the report, my birds have been unusually 
successful in the contest for premiums, sixteen out of 
twenty distinct varieties exhibited being so honored. This 
was more than I expected, and more than I honestly think 
they deserved. And I am strongly of opinion that, had 
they had more time, they ayouM have come to a different 
conclusion, in two or three cases." 

I was prepared for almost anything in the hen-trade, 
up to this time ; but this performance really astonished 
one! The man actually refused to take the premiums 
awarded him ! He even went so far as to show the 
"judges" who ought to have had the prizes, rather than 
himself. And he actually sent back to the committee 
the money they forwarded to him after the exhibition was 
over ! ! 

Now, if this were not sufficient to astonish "the 



THE HEN FEVER. 255 

people," I am very much in error regarding the ordi- 
nary strength of their nerves. It was an almost immac- 
ulate performance; and the "New York State Poultry 
Society" should positively insist that this extraordinary 
man (if he can be proved to be sane) should at once 
accept from them one of the largest-sized leather medals, 
to be worn next to his gizzard, for this unexampled 
disinterestedness, and extraordinary sacrifice of self. 0, 
but that gentleman must be '" a brick," indeed ! 

A journal that alluded to this singular circumstance, at 
the time, asserted that this procedure on the part of the 
president " was highly commendable in the author, if his 
statements were made through principle, rather than 
through fear to encounter public opinion. He stands high 
in the estimation of the public, and we have ever considered 
him as strictly honorable in all his business transac- 
tions ; but we cannot help thinking that ' a screw was 
loose ' somewhere in the matter. His statements are not 
very flattering to the judgment of the judges, and show 
that some of them, at least, were not competent to dis- 
charge their duties properly," etc.; while, in my opin- 
ion, than this, a more barefaced piece of mush was 
never yet perpetrated, in the details even of the hen- 
trade. 

This was emphatically among the '^death-throes " of the 
mania. And cards like the following found their way into 



256 THE HISTORY OF 

the newspapers, about this time, in further proof that the 
valve of this huge balloon had slipped out. An ambitious 
Western man says : 

"I have long been expecting to hear of the swindling 
operations of a certain dealer, who makes a great display of 
'pretending to have every breed known or bred in this 
country ; and, to my certain knowledge, buys all, or nearly 
all, of his fowls, as wanted, and as many on credit as he can, 
but does not pay, nor can the law reach him to make him 
pay. I believe, also, that the papers that advertise for him 
are doing it for nothing — that is, that they are not, and 
never will be paid for it. 

" Such a course, in my opinion, is no better than high- 
way robbery ; and I hereby give said person fair warning to 
act honestly hereafter, or I will point him out in a way that 
shall not be misunderstood, as I cannot see such rascality 
perpetrated, and remain silent. 

" A man who deals in high-priced fowls, in receiving pay 
in advance, has his customers completely at his mercy, 
especially when he is not responsible for a copper ; and at 
the rates that fowls sell for — say, from ten dollars to 
one hundred dollars a pair — purchasers should receive 
what is promised them, — good specimens of the pure 
breeds. So far as weight is concerned, a pair of fowls 
will fall off a feio pounds in a journey of a week or less, 
in a cramped condition, and perhaps without food for a por- 
tion of the time ; but in other respects justice should be 
done to the confiding purchaser." 

Beautiful ! — poetical ! — musical ! This advertiser, 1 
have no doubt, keeps only pure stock. I do not know who 
he is; but, if I wanted to buy (which I don't), I should 
certainly apply to such an honest and justice-loving person, 



THE HEN FEVER. 257 

because I should feel assured, after reading such an adver- 
tisement, that that man was a professor of religion ; and, 
even if he had the chance, would never fleece me — over 
the left ! 

Other fanciers, in their utter desperation (as the fever 
so positively and now rapidly begun to decline), resorted 
to the printing of the pedigrees of their stock ; and the 
following advertisements made their appearance late in 
1854 : 

" By the influence of Mr. Ellibeth Watch (editor of the 
London Polkem Chronicler, and uncle to the Turkish 
Bashaw with three long tails), I have just procured a few 
of Prince Albert's famous breed of ' Windsor fowls.' In 
a letter to me of the 82d day of April, Mr. Watch 
observes : 

' I have positively ordered a trio of Windsor Fowls of 
Prince Albert, for you. It is the best breed in Eng- 
land, and they are much run after, and cannot be had 
without giving previous notice ; but you are safe to have 
yours. I have engaged a friend to choose yours for you ; 
and I consider it a great thing to get them direct from the 
Prince, for you must be aware that persons generally can- 
not exactly pick and choose from the Prince's own 
stock. I shall employ an efficient person to have them 
shipped, etc' " 

In due time this remarkable stock arrived in America, 
and their pedigrees were duly published ; the advertiser 
being "thus particular," because (as he asserted) "there 
22* 



258 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

had been so much imposition upon the public by irresponsi- 
ble persons claiming to have made importations" ! 

Now I never entertained the slightest objections to this 
sort of advertisement, — not 1", i'faith! On the contrary, I 
deem all this kind of thing very excellent, in its way, to be 
sure. The more the merrier. " The people " want it, and 
let them have it, say I. 

But, at the same time, though the " Porte-Monnaie I 
owe 'ems " declare that their unrivalled stock comes from 
Prince Albert's yards, I feel very well assured that all this 
is a mere guy, it being very well known that His Royal 
Highness is not engaged in the hen-trade particularly, and 
of course has something else to do besides supplying even 
the " Porte-Monnaie Company" with his pigs and chickens. 

It was a rare undertaking, this importing live stock 
(with any expectation of selling it) in the fall of 1854 ! 
But we shall soon see who were the final victims of the 
" fever." 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE PORTE-MONNAIE I OWE 'EM COMPANY. 

It has been said, with much of truth, that "two of a 
calling rarely agree ;" and this applies with force to those 
engaged in the "hen-trade." Messrs. Mormann and Humm, 
whom I have before spoken of, could n't long agree together, 
and their "dissolution" soon appeared; and, from the 
ashes of the professional part of this firm, there suddenly 
arose an entirely new dodge, under the big-sounding title 
of 

"THE PORTE-MONNAIE I OWE 'EM COMPANY." 

The presiding genius of this concern was one Doctor 
Bangit, — an old friend of mine, who had been through wars 
enough to have killed a regiment of ghouls, who was among 
the earliest advocates and supporters of the " New England 
Mutual Admiration Society," who was one of the very first 
physicians employed in prescribing for the hen fever in this 
country, and who, I supposed, had had sufficient experience 
not to embark (at this late day) in such a ridiculous enter- 
prise as this so clearly seemed to be. 



260 THE HISTORY OF 

But the doctor saw his victims in prospective, probably ; 
and, though he had run the huinmery of the fowl-fever so 
far into the ground that, in his case, it would surely never 
know a day of resurrection, still he was ambitious and 
hopeful ; and he flattered himself (and some others) that 
the last man who bought live stock had not yet turned up ! 
And so the doctor pushed on, once more. 

The " Blood Stock" of the " Porte- Momiaie I owe 
5 em Company' 1 * was thus advertised, also: 

" IN addition to the genuine, unadulterated Prince 
Albert fowls, the ' Porte-Monnaie I owe 'ems ' offer pigs, 
with tails on, of the Winsor, Unproved Essex, Proved Suf- 
folks, Yorkshire, Wild Indian, Bramerpouter, Siam, Hong- 
Kongo, Emperor Napoleons, and Shanghae Breeds; most 
of them of new styles, and warranted to hold their colors in 
any climate. 

" Also, Welsh Rarebits — bred from their Merino buck 
1 Champum,' of England (that didn't take the first prize 
at the National Show, because Mr. Burnham's ' Knockum ' 
did!), whose ears are each thirty-three feet longer than 
those of our best pure-bred jackasses, and wider than five 
snow-shovels, by actual measurement. 

"Also, A-quack-it fowls; as Swans {Porte-Monnaie 

* I trust that this association may not be confounded with the " Fort 
Des Moines Iowa Company." The difference will plainly be seen, of 
course. 



THE HEN FEVER. 261 

/ owe 'em strain), Two-lice, Hong-gong, Brumagem and 
other Geese. Ruin and Ailsburied Ducks, and Pharmigan 
Pigeons (blue-billed). 

" Also, every breed of Gallinaceous fowls, — Games and 
other bloods already noted, — together with every species of 
pure and select blood-stock, which has been secured in Eu- 
rope, Asia, Africa, and the Arctic Ocean, with reference to 
quality, without regard to price. 

" £Cp We can furnish pedigrees to all buyers who desire 
them, which will be endorsed by the faculty of Riply Col- 
lege, Iowa. 

" N. B. The 'Winsor' breed of pigs imported by us is 
a great addition to the already fine hog stock of the United 
States, and is fully equal, if not superior, to any other 
breed. They are the very choicest of the royal stock which 
is so much admired in England. We are in possession of 
the shipping papers of these splendid pigs. The freight 
and incidental expenses on them, alone, amount to about six 
hundred dollars. They ought to be fine pigs. Three hun- 
dred dollars a pair for the pigs from this splendid stock 
would be low, taking their great value into consideration. 
We have often heard of Prince Albert's stock of pigs, 
but until G. P. Burnham, Esq., of Russet House, Melrose, 
first imported this superb stock into this country, no Ameri- 
can was ever honored with a shy at this extraordinary breed 
of swine. The company, at great expense and trouble, 



262 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

prevailed upon Mr. Burnham to part with a few of his sec- 
ond-rate samples ; and they have now no doubt that they 
will be able to 'beat him all to rags,' in a few months, since 
they have been lucky enough to get them from him purely 
bred (probably !). 

" P. S. Of these pigs, which gained the first prize and 
gold and silver medal at London in December, 1863, and 
the first prize and gold and silver medal in Birmingham, 
were from Tibby, by Wun-eyed Jack. Old Pulgubbin's 
pigs gained a prize at Mutton-head in 1729, and one at 
London in 1873." 

Still, notwithstanding all this extra flourish of trumpets, 
the " Porte Monnaie I owe 'em Company " is well-nigh 
defunct. It was started, unfortunately, about five years 
and eight months " too late in the season." 

Yet, as I honor talent and enterprise, wherever they may 
be shown, I trust that this association may be galvanized 
into successful operation — as, perhaps, it will ! 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

A SATISFACTORY PEDIGREE. 

In the course of my live-stock experience, and espe- 
cially during the excitement that prevailed amidst the routine 
of the hen-trade, I found myself constantly the recipient of 
scores and hundreds of the most ridiculously unreasonable 
and meaningless letters, from the fever-struck (and inno- 
cent) but uninitiated victims of this epidemic. 

In England, amongst other nonsense bearing upon this 
subject, the more cunning poultry-keepers resorted to the 
furnishing oi pedigrees for the birds they sold. This trick 
worked to admiration in Great Britain for a time, and the 
highest-sounding names were given to certain favorite fowls, 
the progeny of which ("with pedigree attached") com- 
manded the most extravagant and ruinous prices, in the 
English "fancy" market. 

For instance, I noticed in the London papers, in 1852, 
an account given of the sale of "two splendid cinnamon- 
colored chickens, out of the famous cock ' Jerry,' by the 
noted hen < Beauty,' sired by ' Napoleon,' upon the well- 



264 THE HISTORY OF 

known 'Queen Dowager,' grandsire 'Prince Albert/ on 
' Victoria First,' " &c. &c, which brought the handsome sum 
of one hundred and sixty pounds (or about eight hundred 
dollars). And, soon afterwards, the same dodge was 
adopted on this side of the Atlantic. The " Porte-Monnaie 
I owe 'em Company " have now an advertisement in sev- 
eral New York and Western papers, concluding thus : 

" To all who desire it, we will furnish authentic pedi- 
grees of our stock of all descriptions, which may be relied 
on for their accuracy." 

This sort of thing was rather too much for my naturally 
republican turn of mind; and, though I could endure 
almost anything in the humbug of this bubble, I could n't 
swallow this. I received from New York State, one day, 
the following spicy epistle : 

" Mr. Burnham. 

" Sir : I have been a live-stock breeder for some years 
in this and the old country, and I was desirous to obtain 
only />we-blooded fowls when I ordered the ' Cochins ' of 
you last month. I asked you for their pedigree. You 
have sent none. What does this mean ? I paid you your 
price — seventy-five dollars — for three chickens. What 
have you sent me ? Am I dealing with a gentleman ? Or 
are you a mere shambles-huckster? What are these fowls 



THE HEN FEVER. 265 

bred from ? Perhaps I may find myself called upon to speak 
more plainly, sir. I hope not. Who are you ? I sent for a 
pedigree, and I want it. I must have it, sir. You will 
comprehend this, I presume. If you do not, I can en- 
lighten you further. In haste, 



I smiled at the earnestness of this letter, the more par- 
ticularly when L reflected that this gentleman always sup- 
plied to his patrons a thing he called a pedigree, for all the 
animals he sold — so intricate, conglomerated and lengthy, 
that no one would ever venture to dispute the authenticity 
and reliability of the document he sent them. 

I re-read his sharp communication, and I found the sen- 
tence again, " Who are you ? I sent for a pedigree, and I 
must have it." And I sat down, at once, and„wrote him as 
follows : 

" Melrose, Mass., 1853. 

"My Dear Sir: 

" Your peppery favor came duly to hand. You say you 
' want a pedigree,' and that you ' must have it ; ' and you 
inquire who / am? I cannot furnish any such history for 
my fowls, for I haven't the slightest idea what they are, 
except that they are bred from my superb imported ' Cochin- 
Chinas.' which have so long been pronounced the 'admira- 
tion of the world.' 

23 



266 THE HISTORY OF 

"But, since you must have a pedigree, you say, and as 
you seem anxious to know who I am, I enclose you the fol- 
lowing, as an accurate account of my oion pedigree, which 
I furnished to a legal gentleman in New York city, some 
years since,* and which, I presume, will answer your pur- 
pose as well as any other would ; as I observe, by your 
polite favor now before me, that you ' want A pedigree.' 
Please read this carefully, and then inform me (as you 
promise to do) if you ' can enlighten me further ' ! 
" Very profoundly yours, 

! <G. P. B." 

It will be necessary, in order that my readers may the 
better appreciate the pedigree that follows (and which I 
enclosed to my correspondent, as above stated), to inform 
them that some fifteen years ago, or more, there was a per- 
son named Burnham, who died in England, leaving no 
will behind him ; but who was possessed, at the time of his 
decease, of an immense fortune, said to amount to several 
millions of pounds sterling in value. As soon as the intel- 
ligence reached this country, the Burnhams were greatly 
elated with their prospects, and meetings of the imaginative 

* This article -was originally published in the New York Spirit of 
the Times, substantially, and was afterwards issued in an edition of my 
fugitive literary productions, by Getz & Buck, of Philadelphia, in a vol- 
ume entitled " Stray Subjects." 



THE HEN FEVER. 267 

" heirs" to this estate were held, who, each and all, believed 
that a windfall was now in certain prospect before them. 
The excitement ended as all this sort of thing does. No 
one among the Burnhams could identify himself, or substan- 
tiate the fact of his ever having had a grandfather ; and the 
bubble was soon exploded. Among the parties who were 
addressed on the subject of this supposed " JBurnham for- 
tune," was mj humble self; the ambitious lawyer who 
undertook to unravel the mystery, and to recover the money 
for us, informing me by mail that " it would be of material 
pecuniary advantage to me to establish my pedigree." I 
wrote him as follows : 

"My Dear Sir: 

" Your favor, under date 4th instant, came duly to hand, 
and I improve my earliest moment of leisure (after the un- 
avoidable delays attendant upon procuring the information 
you seek) to reply. You are desirous of being made ac- 
quainted with my £ pedigree.' 

" I have to inform you that I have taken some days to 
examine into this matter, and. after a careful investigation 
of the 'records,' find that I am a descendant, in the direct 
line, from a gentleman, very well remembered in these 
parts, by the name of Adam. The old man had two sons. 
' Cain ' and ' Abel ' they were called. The latter, by the 
other's hands, went dead one day ; but as no coroner had 



268 THE HISTORY OF 

then been appointed in the county where they resided, 
{ verdict was postponed.' A third son was born, whom they 
called 'Seth.' Cain Adam had a son named Enoch, who 
had a son (in the fourth generation) by the name of Malech. 
Malech had a son whom he called Noah, from whom I 
trace directly my own being. 

" Noah had three sons, ' Shem,' ' Ham ' and ' Japheth.' 
The eldest and youngest — Shem and Japheth — were a 
couple of the ' b'hoys ; ' and Ham was a very- well-disposed 
young gentleman, who slept at home o' nights. But his 
two brothers, unfortunately, were not so well inclined. 
Ham was a sort of 'jethro' — the butt of his two brothers, 
who had done him ' brown ' so many times, that they 
called him ' burnt.' For many years he was known, there- 
fore, as ( Burnt-Ham.' Before his death he applied to 
the Legislature in his diggings for a change of name. He 
dropped the t, a bill was passed entitling him to the name 
of Burn -ham, and hence the surname of your humble 
servant. So much for the name. 

" In several of the newspapers of that period I find al- 
lusions made to a very severe ram-storm which occurred 
'just about this time ; ' and the public prints (of all parties) 
agree that 'this storm was tremendous,' and that 'an im- 
mense amount of damage was done to the shipping and 
commercial interest.' As this took place some six thousand 
years back, however, you will not, I presume, expect me to 



THE HEN FEVER. 269 

quote the particular details of this circumstance, except in 
so far as refers directly to my own relatives. I may here 
add, however, that subsequent accounts inform me that 
everything of any particular value was totally destroyed. 
A private letter from Ham, dated at the time, declares that 
' there was n't a peg left to hang his hat on.' 

" Old Noah found it was ' gittin' werry wet under foot' 
(to use a familiar expression of his), and he wisely built a 
canal-boat (of very generous dimensions) for the safety of 
himself and family. Finding that the rain continued, he 
enlarged his boat, so that he could carry a very consider- 
able amount of luggage, in case of accident. This fore- 
sight in the old gentleman proved most fortunate, and only 
confirms the established opinion, that the family is ' smart ; ' 
- for the c storm continued unabated for forty days and forty 
nights ' (so say the accounts), until every species of animal 
and vegetable matter had been 'used up,' always excepting 
the old gentleman's canal -boat and cargo. 

" Now, Noah was a great lover of animals. ' Of every 
kind, a male and female,' did he take into his boat with him, 
and l a nice time ' they must have had of it for six weeks ! 
Notwithstanding the fact (which I find recorded in one of 
the journals of the day), that ' a gentleman, who was swim- 
ming about, and who requested the old man to let him in, 
upon being refused, declared that he might go to grass 
with his old canoe, for he did n't think it would be much of 
23* 



270 THE HISTORY OF 

a shower, anyhow,' — I say, notwithstanding this opinion' 
of the gentleman, who is represented as having been a ' very- 
expert swimmer,' everything was destroyed. 

" Ham was one of 'em — he was ! He ' knew sufficient 
to get out of the rain,' albeit he wasn't thought very 
witty. He took passage with the rest, however, and thus 
did away with the necessity of a life-preserver. From Ham 
I trace my pedigree directly down through all the grades, 
to King Solomon, without any difficulty, who, by the way, 
was reported to have been a little loose in his habits, and 
was very fond of the ladies and Manzanilla Sherry. He 
used to sing songs, too, of which : the least said the soonest 
mended.' But, on the whole, Sol was a very clever, jolly- 
good fellow, and on several occasions gave evidence of pos- 
sessing his share of the cunning natural to our family. 
Some thought him ' wise ; ' but, although I have no dispo- 
sition to abuse any of my ancestors, I think the Queen of 
Sheba (a very nice young woman she was, too) rather 
1 come it ' over the old fellow ! 

" By a continuous chain, I trace my relationship thence 
through a rather tortuous line, from generation to genera- 
tion, down to Mr. Matthew, — not the comedian, but to 
Matthew, the Collector (of Galilee, I think), who 'sat at 
the receipt of customs.' To this connection I was, un- 
doubtedly, indebted for an appointment in the Boston Cus- 
tom-house. Matthew lived in the good old ' high tariff ' 



THE HEN FEVER. 2T1 

times, when something in the shape of duties "was coming 
in. But, as nothing is said of his finale, I rather think he 
absquatulated with the funds of the government. But I 
will come to the information you desire, without further 
ado. 

" You know the ' Old 'Un,' undoubtedly. (If you 
don't, there is very little doubt but you will know his 
namesake hereafter, if you don't cease to squander your 
time in looking after the plunder of the Burnham family !) 
Well, the ' Old 'Un ' is in the ' direct line,' to which I 
have now endeavored to turn your attention ; and I have 
been called, of late years, the 'Young 'Un,' for reasons 
that will not interest you. To my honored senior 
(whom I set down in the category as my legitimate ' dad ') 
I would refer you for further particulars. He is tenacious 
of the character of his progeny, and loves me ; I would 
commend you to him, for it will warm the cockles of his 
Gld heart to learn that the ' Young 'Un ' is in luck. 

" If you chance to live long enough to get as far down 
in my letter as this paragraph, allow me to add that, 
should you happen to receive any very considerable 
amount as my share of the ' property ' for the Burnham 
family, please not overlook the fact that I am ' one of 'em, 5 
and that I have taken pains to tell you c whar I cum from.' 
Please forward my dividend by Adams & Co.'s Express 
(if their crates should be big enough to convey it), and if 



272 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

it should prove too bulky, turn it into American gold, and 
charter a steamer to come round for the purpose; I shan't 
mind the expense. 

" In conclusion, I can only intimate the high consider- 
ation I entertain towards yourself for having prepaid the 
postage upon your communication ; a very unusual trans- 
action with legal gentlemen. My sensations, upon closing 
this hasty scrawl, are, I fancy, very nearly akin to those of 
the Hibernian who ' liked to have found a sovereign once,' 
■ — but you will allow me to assure you that it will afford me 
the greatest pleasure to meet you hereafter, and I shall be 
happy to give you any further information in my power 
touching that l putty ' in prospective. 

" I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" Geo. P. Burnham, alias the 'Young 'Un.' " 

I presume this pedigree was perfectly satisfactory to my 
correspondent; and I am quite certain that it was of as 
much account as this kind of thing usually is. At any 
rate, I heard nothing more from him, in any way ; and I 
made up my mind, therefore, that, after reading this, he 
concluded that he couldn't " enlighten me further," as he 
had so pertly suggested in his communication, quoted in the 
beginning of this chapter. He is a very nice man, I have 
no manner of doubt. 



> 



CHAPTER XL. 

" DOING THE GENTEEL THING." 

" There is one thing you should always bear in mind," 
said a notorious shark to me, one day, while we conversed 
upon the subject of breeding live-stock successfully — 
" there is one thing you should always remember ; and 
that is, under no circumstances ever permit a fowl or a pig 
to pass out of your hands to a purchaser, unless you know 
him to be of pure blood." 

This is a pretty theory, and, I have no doubt, such a 
course would work to admiration, if faithfully carried out 
(as 2" always intended to do, by the way) ; but in this 
country this was easier to talk about than to accomplish. 
I have now a letter before me, received some years since, 
upon this point, and which will give the reader some idea 
how far this thing extended in certain quarters, and what 
came of it. 

" Sir : I have been informed by my friends, and I have 
seen it stated in the poultry-books generally, that you are 



274 THE HISTORY OF 

a breeder of fowls who can be relied on. I wish I could 
say as much of some other parties with whom I have dealt, 
during the past year or two. 

'•' I have been striving, for a long time, to get possession 
of some ptire-hved domestic fowls, and a strain of thorough- 
bred Suffolk swine. I am satisfied you have got them. 
Now, I beg you will understand that I am fortunately pe- 
cuniarily able to pay f° r what I see ^- I care nothing for 
prices; * but I do desire, and stipulate for, purity of blood. 
Can you supply me ? What are your strains ? When did 
you import it, and how has it been bred ? 

" If you can send me half a dozen Chinese fowls, all 
pure bloods, of each of the different varieties, do so, and 
charge me whatever you please, — only let them be fine, and 
such as will produce their like. 

"I have read much on this subject of poultry, and I 
want to begin right, you perceive. I have made up 
my mind that there are not so many varieties of fowls ex- 
tant as many breeders describe. I am satisfied that these 
domestic birds hail originally from China, and that all of 
them are of one blood. What is your opinion ? 

"Write me your views, please, and let me know if you 
can furnish me what I seek, upon honor ; bearing in mind 

* This was the kind of customer I met with occasionally, and whom I 
always took at his word. The gentleman who " did n't care about price " 
was always the man after my own heart. 



THE HEN FEVER. 275 

that I am ready to pay your price, whatever it may be ; 
but that I want only pure-blooded stock. 

"Yours, respectfully, 



I immediately forwarded to this customer (as I usually 
did to my newly -found patrons) copies of the portraits of 
my "genuine Suffolk" pigs, and of my " pure-bred " and 
" imported " Chinese fowls. These " pictures," samples of 
which appear in this work upon pages 174 and 212, had 
the desired effect. I rarely forwarded to these beginners 
one of these nicely-got-up circulars that didn't "knock 
'em" at first sight. 

These gentlemen stared at the engravings, exclaimed, 
" Can it be?" thrust their hands to the very bottom 
of their long purses, and ordered the stock by return of 
mail. 

In this last-mentioned case, I informed my correspondent 
that I agreed with him in the ideas he had advanced pre- 
cisely (I usually did agree with such gentlemen), and I 
entertained no doubt that he was entirely correct in his 
views as to the origin of domestic fowls, of which he evi- 
dently knew so much. (This helped me, amazingly. ) I 
pointed out to him the distinction that existed (without a 
difference) between a " Shanghae" and a " Cochin-China," 
and finally concluded my learned and zmselfish appeal by 



276 THE HISTORY OF 

hinting (barely hinting') to him that I felt certain he was 
the best judge of the facts in the case, and I would only 
suggest that, so far as my experience went, there were, in 
reality, but ten varieties of pure-bred, fowls known to orni- 
thologists (I was one of this latter class), and that these ten 
varieties were the Cochins, the White, Grey, Dominique, 
Buff, Yellow, Red, Brown, Bronze and Black Shang- 
haes — and these were the only kinds /ever bred. 

As to their purity of blood, I could only say, that I im- 
ported the original stock myself, and "enclosed" he had 
their portraits ; to which I referred with pride and confi- 
dence and pleasure, &c. &c. &c. Of their probable merits 
I must leave it entirely to his own good judgment to decide. 
I had this stock for sale, and it did not become me (mind 
this !) didn't become me to praise it, of course (0 no I). 
And I would say no more, but simply refer him to the 
public prints for my character as a breeder of blooded stock, 
etc. etc. etc. 

Did this take him down ? Well, it did ; vide the follow- 
ing reply from him, two weeks subsequently. 

"My Dear Sir: 

" I never entertained a doubt that you were all you had , 
been represented ; and your reputation is, indeed, an envi- 
able one, in the midst of these times, when so much deceit 
and trickery is being practised among this community. I 



THE HEN FEVER. 277 

am flattered with the tone of your kind letter, just received, 
arid I am greatly pleased that you thus readily coincide 
with me in regard to my opinions touching the fowl race. 

" I had come to the conclusion that there were but eight 
real varieties of genuine fowls ; but I observe that, in your 
last favor, you describe ten strains of pure-bloods, that you 
know to be such. The portraits of your stock are beauti- 
ful. You allude to the ' Bronze ' and the ' Dominique ' 
colored Shanghaes. These must be very fine, I have no 
doubt ; and I gladly embrace the opportunity to enclose 
you a draft on Merchants' Bank, Boston, for six hundred 
dollars, in payment for six of each of your splendid 
varieties of this pure China stock, the like of which (on 
paper, at least) I have never yet been so fortunate as to 
meet with. 

" Please forward them, as per schedule, in care of Adams 
& Co.'s Express; whose agents, I am assured, will feed and 
water them regularly three times a day * on the route, 
and who are universally proverbial for their attention to the 
birds thus directed and intrusted to their care. I shall 
order the ' Suffolks ' shortly. Yours, truly, 



I sent this anxious purchaser sixty chickens, at ten dol- 

* Certainly — of course. The express agents had nothing else to do 
but to " feed and water " fowls " three times a day " on the way ! 

24 



278 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

lars each (cheap enough, to be sure), in accordance with 
his directions, and he was delighted with them. I do not 
now entertain a shadow of doubt that every one of those ten 
" different varieties " were bred from white hens and a black 
cock, of the ordinary " Shanghae" tribe. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

THE FATE OF THE " MODEL " SHANGHAES. 

Napoleon, the great, found himself compelled to suc- 
cumb to adverse fate, at the end of a long and brilliantly 
triumphant career. "It was destiny," he said; and he 
bowed to the fiat, which at last he was unable successfully 
to dodge. 

I was the fortunate owner of a pair of fine Shanghae 
fowls, that were universally acknowledged to be "at the 
head of the crowd," — so far as there was any beauty or 
attractive qualities, whatever, in this species of animal, — 
and I thought they were not bad-looking birds, really. 

I caused a likeness to be taken of them from life, accu- 
rately, and it was placed, some years since, at the head of 
the circulars which I always enclosed back to my corres- 
pondents, in reply to their favors and inquiries regarding 
my views as to what was the best kind of domestic bird for 
breeding. | 

The cock was very handsomely formed, and when in full 
feather was exceedingly showy, and graceful, and noble in 



280 THE HISTORY OF 

his carriage. His hen companions were fine, too ; but there 
was one in particular, that, in company with this bird, I 
showed at several fairs, where they invariably carried away 
the first premium, without any question or cavil as to com- 
parative beauty and merit. I named them "Napoleon" 
and the " Empress." 

Their joint weight, when in the best condition, was about 
twenty-two pounds ; and as the "fancy" then raged, they 
were really unexceptionable. I "donno" how many chick- 
ens I have sold by means of the -pictures of these birds, but 
I do know that, unfortunately, this particular hen never 
laid an egg while I owned her, which was some two years. 
Still, she was very handsome, as was also her husband ; and 
I certainly raised a great many fine chickens while they 
were in my yards. I called them my very best, — and 
they were, indeed, to look at, — a model pair of Shang- 
haes, as will be seen by a glance at their portraits on the 
next page. 

But they were singled out for a curious fate. At two or 
three of our early fairs they had taken the first prizes ; 
and at one of the exhibitions, finally, there chanced to come 
along a gentleman who fancied them exceedingly, and who 
was bound to possess himself of the best that could be had. 
He had a long purse (though, at the time he bought, prices 
were not up to the mark they reached subsequently, by a 
long margin) ; and when he offered forty dollars for this 



THE HEN FEVER. 



281 




r^AiSa* 



THE "MODEL," SHANGHAES. (See page 280.) 

24* 



282 THE HISTORY OF 

"model" pair, it was thought, by most of the outsiders, to 
be a fabulous transaction altogether, made up between us to 
aid in gulling "the people." However, he paid his money 
for them, sent them off, and the following account of their 
subsequent fate is thus touchingly furnished by my friend 
" Acorn," who chanced to be " in at the death" : 

" The gentleman who became the fortunate purchaser of 
these fine fowls had come to the city in the morning for 
the purpose of- posting himself up generally, and to procure 
a pair of these then very desirable birds, though he did not 
imagine that he would be called upon to come down so 
1 werry han'some ' for a single pair. He saw these, how- 
ever, and visions of brilliant promise loomed up before him, 
if he could contrive to obtain them, however high a figure 
this ' magnificent ' twain might be held at. As soon as 
he secured them, he felt that his fortune was made. 

"He calculated to remain in town until evening, and, sit- 
ting down, he hastily wrote a note to the keeper of a fash- 
ionable hotel in T street, informing him that he would 

dine with him, and that the bearer would deliver him a pair 
of nice chickens, which he desired him to take charge of. 
He also directed the boy (to whom he gave this note and 
the coop) to say that he would take dinner with his friend 
at four p. m. ; and, sending up the fowls, he turned to other 
matters, for the day. 



^SE HEN FEVER. 283 

"Arriving at the hotel, the youngster found the landlord, 
and said, 

'*' 'Here 's a pair of rousing big chickens Mr. M s has 

sent up ; and he says he '11 be here to dine with you at four 
o'clock.' 

"The landlord supposed that his friend knew a hawk from 
a handsaw, as well as a canvass-back from a broiled owl ; 
and believed that he had 'sent up' something a little extra 
for the proposed dinner. He therefore ordered the two birds 
to be placed in the hands of the cook, and gave directions 
also to have these ' model Shanghaes ' killed and dressed 
at once, for the proposed dinner, to come off at four o'clock 
p. m. ! 

" This order was promptly obeyed ; and at the hour ap- 
pointed the chicken-fancier made his appearance, in com- 
pany with a few of the 'boys,' and the dinner was served 
up with due accompaniments. After indulging in sundry 
wine bitters, as a sharpener to their appetites, the snug 
party sat down to table, and the liberal owner of the forty- 
dollar Shanghaes was politely invited to carve. While in 
the act of dissecting those enormous ' members of the late 
hen convention,' the amateur remarked, 

" ' 'Pon my word, Major, you 've a noble pair of chickens 
here, to be sure.' 

"'Yes, yes,' responded the Major. 'I think they are 
an indifferently good-sized pair of birds. They were sent 



284 THE HISTORY OF 

up to ine, to-day, by a mutual friend of ours. I think we 
shall find them choice.' 

" ' A present, eh ? ' said the owner, unwittingly. ' A 
very clever fellow our friend must be, Major. Capital, — 
really ! ' And as he finally commenced to enjoy the feast, 
he added, ' I declare they are very fine, and of the most 
delicious flavor I ever tasted. Juicy, too, — juicy as a 
canvass-back.' 

' ' Thus continued the victim, praising the rich excellence 
of the birds, until at last he had bagged a bottle or more of 
sparkling Schreider. While chatting over their Sherry, at 
last, and enjoying the rich aroma of their regalias, the now 
unlucky owner of the model Shanghaes suddenly said, 

" 'By the way, Major, speaking of fowls, what do you 
think of my hen-purchase, this morning ? Are n't they good 
'uns ? ' 

"'Well, Bill,' rejoined his friend, 'I think they were 
delicious. And I won't mind if you dine with me every 
day in the week, provided you can send me up such chick- 
ens as those ! ' 

" ' Such chickens!' exclaimed Bill, astounded, as the 
thought for the first time flashed upon him that he might 
possibly now have been dining upon his 'model Shanghaes.' 
' Why, Major, what the deuce do you mean ? ' 

" ' Mean ? ' replied the Major ; ' nothing, — only to say 
— without, any intention of disturbing your nerves, — 



THE HEN FEVER. 285 

that we have just finished a most capital dinner upon those 
nice Shanghaes that you sent up to me, this morning.' 

Ui What!' yelled Bill, jumping wildly up from the 
table ; ' what do you say, Major ? ' 

" ' Those Shanghaes — ' 

" Bill groaned, rammed his hands clean up to the elbows 
into his breeches-pockets, and, after striding fiercely across 
the room some half a dozen times, without uttering another 
word, but with his eyes all this time 'in a fine frenzy 
rolling,' he stopped short, and, turning to the Major, he 
exclaimed, with no little gesticulation, 

" ' Good God, Major, you don't mean to say you're seri- 
ous, now ? ' 

" ' Nothing else, Bill. What 's the matter ? ' 

" ' Why, I paid forty dollars for that pair of chickens, 
this morning, at the hen-show ! ' 

"'You did!' 

" ' Yes. Did n't that stupid boy give you my note, when 
he left the chickens ? ' 

" ' Not a note ; not even a due-bill,' said the Major, 
provokingly. 

" ' I mean my letter,' continued Bill. 

" ' No,' said the Major, ' he gave me no letter ; he sim- 
ply delivered the fowls, and informed me that you would 
dine with me at four P. M I thought, of course, you would 
like them thus, and so I had 'em roasted.' 



286 THE HISTORY OF 

"Bill didn't stop for further explanations, but rushed 
for his horse and wagon, and was n't seen in the city but 
once afterwards, for a long time. He was then closely 
muffled up, and had both his ears stopped up with cotton- 
batting, lest he might possibly hear some one say Sliang- 
hae ! 

" A few weeks afterwards, while passing near his resi- 
lience, I halted, and dropped in upon him for an hour ; 
and, after a while, I ventured to touch upon the merits 
and beauties of the different breeds of poultry : — but 
I discovered, at once, that there was a wildness about 
Bill's eyes, and therefore ceased to allude to this usu- 
ally interesting ' rural ' subject, as Bill exclaimed, implor- 
ing 1 /, 

" ' Don't hit me, old boy, now I 'm down ! That chicken 
dinner has never yet digested V " 

Thus "passed away" one of the handsomest pairs of 
domestic fowls ever seen in this part of the country, and 
which were well known, by all the fanciers around me, 
as tip-top specimens of the then lauded race of Shang- 
haes. 

This result proved rather an expensive dinner for Mr. 

M s ; but, while it served for an excellent lesson to him 

(as well as to many of his friends who chanced to hear of 
what the Major called "this capital joke"), he had the 



THE HEN FEVER. 



287 



satisfaction, subsequently, of ascertaining that he got off at 
a remarkably low figure. His hen fever was very quickly, 
and fortunately, cured. But for- this sudden and happy 
turn in his case, the disease might have cost him far more 
dearly. 

The fowls -he thus lost were what were then deemed "tall 
specimens ;" but they did not, in this respect, equal those 
of a neighbor, who declared that a young Shanghae cock 
of his grew so high on the leg, that he got to be afraid of 
him ; and, instead of eating him, one day while the rooster 
was in a meditative mood, he contrived to place a twenty- 
feet ladder beside him, and, mounting it, man&ged to blow 
out the monster's brains, greatly to the owner's velief. 




CHAPTER XLII. 

AN EMPHATIC CLINCHES. 

One of the last specimen letters that I will offer I re- 
ceived late in the year of our Lord 1854, which afforded 
me as much amusement (considering the circumstances of 
the case) as any one I ever yet received, of the thousands 
that found their way to " Geo. P. Burnham, Esq., Boston, 
Mass." Here it is, word for word : 

"Geokg- Buenam : 

More 'n a yeer aggo i cent yu twenty six dollers in a 
leter for 3 coshin chiner Chickns, an yu sed tha wus per- 
feck pure bludds an yu lade yerseff lyble tu a Sute of pros- 
ekushn fer letin such dam stuf go intu yure yard or out of 
it, eether. 

"ibred them orl by theniselfs an never had no uther 
cockrill on my plase. an i no yu cheeted me like the 
devl, an yu no it 2. the fust lot of chickns i gut was awl 
wife as snobawls. but i didnt sa nothin, cause wy ? Wat 
did I Want tu let fokes no ide bin fuled an suckt in by a 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 289 

Corntemtible yanky, fer ! i sed nothin an kep shaidy, an 
stuk to it that i gut em to breed wite fouls out on — caus i 
Ment peeple shudent larf at me, no how ! 

' ' Wei, the nex lot of chickns i gut wus black as thun- 
der ! black, Geo Burnam — bred out of yur Patent yaller 
impoted preemum stock, that yu an the lyin Noospappers 
ced wus pure bludds. i chocked Every wun on em quick- 
er '"n scatt — wen i found um, an ef Yude a bin thare then 
i guess you Wuddent razed not more'n ten thowsen more 
fouls to cheet Peeple with after ide a gut a holt on yure 
desaitful gullet. 

' ' never y u mind now, yuve gut my monny an yu can 
maik the most of it. aint yu a Pooty kine of mann ? dont 
yu think yu ort tu hav yure Nairn put in the nuspapper an 
let em say more 'n fifty times a Munth that yu breed onny 
pure Impoted stock ? dont yu feel nice wen Yu beer about 
the luck that peeple has with the stuf you impose on em in 
this shaimfull maner ? Yu muss be a Nise kine of a sort 
of mann, i dont think. 

" i tell yu wot i think on yu. i think if yu Shud taik to 
sum onnest imploiment, sech as drivin a express Waggin or 
sorring wood, yude be Considurd a gentle mann Compaired 
with wat yu now be. everyboddy nose how yu ar cheetin 
and Gougin and bleadin the publick, an yur naim stinks 
wuss 'n a ole Hen-cupe enny how. i spose tho ef yu shud 
taik to enny kine of onness sort of way tu git a livin it ud 
25 



299 THE HISTORY OE 

kill yu dam quik cos yu aint uste tu it, an that wud serv 
yu rite, yu Cheetin lyin onprinsipled nave, ide orter taikn 
hermits an Minur's advise, an then i Shudent hin suckt by 
yu. tha air Gentle mann to yu, an tha aint no hetter 
then tha shud be Ney ther — no how ! 
, " i dont mine the Eckspence, it aint no cornsidahle mat- 
ter of konsekens Tu me, i 'shure yu. i can stan it, yu 
need n't be Afeered of that, i can aford tu he suckt wunce. 
But ide like yu tu tell me how Blak chickns an wite chickns 
an sum of em orl Cullers tu, can cum out of pure bludded 
Aigs, or pure bludded fouls ? tha carnt, an yu kno it. an 
yu kno'de it afore, an yure Welcom tu orl yule ewer maik 
More out of me, bait yure life on that, georg Burnam ! 

"goahed. sue em as long as Yu can. tha wunt fine 
yu out fer a wile, an yu can maik sum cornsidable mor 
Monny out of the flatts, yit. yu thort yude suckt one I 
spoze. well i own up. yu did. yu gut twenty six dollers 
of my monny an i spose yu chukled about it, same's yu did 
Wen yu stuk them roten aigs onto bill turner. Yude beter 
cum here, this wa, sum fine da an See the stock here thats 
bred out of yure preemum fouls, praps Yude git hoam 
agin without a saw hed." i think yu wood, haddn't yu 
Better try it on — hay ? 

" dont yu wish ide pade the postige on this leter ? Yule 
git a wus wun nex time, ile rite yu agin, wunct a weak, 
cee ef i dont. ile Meat yu sum day at sum of the fares 



THE HEN FEVER. 291 

an then cee if i dont Rake yu down with a corse comb, i 
haint harf dun with yu yit, by a dam site, so wate. 
' ' In haist, 

" B F L . 

" Poss Skrip. — P. S. i seen in boston Times yister- 
day that yu ' Lade six aigs on The editurs table, 8 inchi3 
long an 4 inchis Round.' This was put in that paper i 
Spose sose yu cud cell Aigs. yu ma pool wull over thair 
ies But yu dont fule Me. i doant bleeve yu ever Lade a 
aig in yur life — yu Hombugg. go tu the devl gorge 
Burnam ! " 

A German friend of mine once temporarily left the pro- 
fession to which he had been educated thoroughly, and, with 
a few hundred dollars in hand, purchased a small place, a 
dozen miles out from the city, which was called by the seller 
of it "a farm." 

Mynheer went to work lustily at his new vocation, slav- 
ing and sweating and puffing away over his lately ac- 
quired grounds, every moment of time that he could bor- 
row or steal from his legitimate duties, and expending 
upon his "farm" every dollar he could rake and scrape 
together. 

In the fall of his first year as a "practical agriculturist," 
I met him casually, and I said, 



292 THE HISTORY OF 

" A , how does the farming succeed with you ? How 

have you made it?" 

" By gar," he replied, "I 'av try vera hard all de time, 
I 'av plant potato an quash an corn an all dat, I 'av hire 
all my neighbors to ; elp, I buy all de manoor in town, I 
'av spent all my monish — an wot you tink, now, Burn- 
ham — wot you tink I get — eh ? Well, I git one dam 
big watermel'n, dass all ; — but he never git ripe, by 
gar!" 

When I had read the letter which I have just quoted 

above, I thought of my friend A , and I said that my 

correspondent (like a good many before him), as did Myn- 
heer A , had undertaken a business which was entirely 

beyond his comprehension. 

His letter was complimentary, (!) to say the least of 
it. But the young man was easily excited, I think. 
He did pay me some twenty-six dollars for four chickens, 
and from some cause (unknown to this individual) he got 
only white or black progeny from the yellow fowls I sent 
him ! Was that any business of mine ? He should 
have thanked, rather than have abused me, surely, — for 
didn't he thus obtain a variety of "pure" stock, from 
one and the same source ? 

Such fortune as this was by no means uncommon. The 
yellow stock was crossed in China, oftentimes, long before 
we ever saw it here ; and there was only one means of 



THE HEN FEVER. 



293 



redress that I could ever recommend to these unlucky 
wights, conscientiously, and that was to buy more, and try 
it again. 

Sometimes " like would breed its like" in poultry; not 
often, however, within my humble experience ! The ama- 
teurs were continually trying experiments, and grumbling, 
and constantly dodging from one "fancy" kind of fowl to 
another, in search of the right thing ; and I endeavored to 
aid them in their pursuit ; though they did not always at- 
tain their object, even when they purchased of me. 




CHAPTER XLIXI. 

" STAND FROM UNDER ! " 

I have asserted, in another place, that, in all probability, 
in no bubble, short of the famous " South Sea Expedition," 
has there ever been so great an amount of money squan- 
dered, from first to last, as in the chicken-trade ; and, 
surely, into the meshes of no humbug known to us of the 
present day have there been so many persons inveigled, as 
could now be counted among the victims of this inex- 
plicable mania. 

A copy of the Liveiyool Express in January, 1854, now 
lies before me, from which I notice that the great metro- 
politan show in London, just then closed, surpassed all its 
predecessors ; and that the excitement in England, at that 
time, was at its height. The editor asserts that "it was 
not an easy thing to exhaust the merits of the three thou- 
sand specimens of the feathered tribe there shown. No 
one," continues the writer, " who is at all conversant with 
natural history, can fail to find abundance of material for 
an hour's instruction and amusement. The general charac- 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 295 

ter of the exhibition has been already indicated ; but this is 
one of those cases in which no description, however elabo- 
rate, can supply the place of personal inspection." 

The British correspondent of the Boston Post, but a 
short time previously, writes that "the fowl fever, which has 
raged with so much violence in New England during the 
last three years, has extended to this country. There was 
a great crowing among the cocks at the late Smithfield 
cattle-show, and there seems to have been a still louder one 
at the Birmingham fair. 

" The mania for the purchase of fine fowls," continues 
this writer, "was as furious there as if each of them had 
been the hen in the fable that found the jewel in the dung- 
hill. Some pairs brought as high as forty pounds (two 
hundred dollars). One very fine pair of Cochin-Chinas 
sold for fifty pounds (two hundred and fifty dollars). In 
the catalogue some were marked at one hundred pounds, 
the valuation prices of owners who did not wish to sell. 
With you, in America, the rage for fowl-raising is simply 
one of fancy and profit,* but here it is the result — and a 
very beneficial one, too — of free trade. The price of eggs 
and poultry, owing to the great demand, does not fall ; the 
price of grain, owing to free importation, does fall ; and 
hence the great profit which is realized from keeping fowls. 



* We. have found it a very comfortable " rage," thank you ! 



296 THE HISTORY OF 

The Dorkings are great favorites, less difficult to raise than 
with you ; and, though not abundant layers, still command, 
from the greater whiteness and superior delicacy of their 
flesh, a high price in the market. But the new Cochin- 
China varieties are in the greatest demand ; the display of 
them at Birmingham exceeded all others, and they are now 
much sought after here." 

Such accounts as these continually occupied the papers ; 
and the fever had been kept furiously alive, by this means, 
until far into the year 1854. The most glowing accounts 
of the poultry-shows, at home and abroad, were kept up, 
too ; but, in the mean time, Shanghae chickens multiplied 
rapidly, and grew up, and filled the barns and yards of 
" the people," — and at the same time they did not forget 
how to eat corn, when they could get it. 

And, in spite of the best endeavors of interested parties to 
galvanize the hum into a continued existence, it was now 
evident to those who watched its progress, as / had done, 
that the death-rattle was clearly in its throat. 

At this juncture I was reminded of the details of the 
mulberry -tree bubble, the tulip fever, and the Merino sheep 
speculation ; and I had taken care not to become involved 
in the final ruin of the hen-trade (as I knew many had 
been, and more were destined to be), in the eventual wind- 
ing-up of this affair, which was now close at hand. 

A brief account of the famous sheep mania (so like the 



THE HEN FEVER. 297 

hen fever in its workings) will not be uninteresting at this 
point ; and its record here, perhaps, will have the effect of 
opening the eyes of some chance reader, haply, who is, even 
now, half inclined to try his hand in the chicken-trade. 

This sheep bubble originated in the year 1815 or 1816, 
immediately after the treaty of Ghent, and at a period when 
thousands of the American people were actually ' ' wool- 
mad" in reference to the huge profits that were then ap- 
parent, prospectively, in manufacturing enterprises. 

In the summer of the last-named year (as nearly as can 
be fixed upon), a gentleman in Boston first imported some 
half-dozen sheep from one of the southern provinces of 
Spain, whose fleeces were of the finest texture, as it was 
said; and such, undoubtedly, was the fact, though the sheep 
were so thoroughly and completely imbedded in tar, and 
every other offensive article, upon their arrival in America, 
that it would have been very difficult to have proved this 
statement. Eut the very offensive appearance of the sheep 
seemed to imbue them with a mysterious value, that ren- 
dered them doubly attractive. 

It was contended that the introduction of these sheep into 
the United States would enable our manufactories, then in 
their infancy, to produce broadcloths, and other woollen 
fabrics, of a texture that would compete with England and 
Europe. Even Mr. Clay was consulted in reference to the 
Bheep ; and he at once decided that they were exactly the 



298 THE HISTORY OF 

animals that were wanted ; and some of them subsequently 
found their way to Ashland. 

The first Merino sheep sold, if I recollect right, for fifty 
dollars the head. They cost just one dollar each in Anda- 
lusia ! The speculation was too profitable to stop here ; and, 
before a long period had elapsed, a small fleet sailed on a 
sheep speculation to the Mediterranean. By the end of the 
year 1816 there probably were one thousand Merino sheep 
in the Union, and they had advanced in price to twelve 
hundred dollars the head. 

Before the winter of that year had passed away, they sold 
for fifteen hundred dollars the head ; and a lusty and good- 
looking buck would command two thousand dollars at sight. 
Of course, the natural Yankee spirit of enterprise, and the 
love which New Englanders bore to the " almighty dollar," 
were equal to such an emergency as this, and hundreds of 
Merino sheep soon accumulated in the Eastern States. 

But, in the course of the year 1817, the speculation, in 
consequence of the surplus importation, began to decline ; 
yet it steadily and rapidly advanced throughout the Western 
country, while Kentucky, in consequence of the influence of 
Mr. Clay's opinions, was especially benefited. 

In the fall of 1817, what was then deemed a very fine 
Merino buck and ewe were sold to a gentleman in the West- 
ern country for the sum of eight thousand dollars ; and 
even that was deemed a very small price for the animals ! 



THE HEN FEVEK. 299 

They were purchased by a Mr. Samuel Long, a house builder 
and contractor, who fancied he had by the transaction 
secured an immense fortune. 

Now, Mr. Long had acquired the sheep fever precisely 
as thousands of others (in later days) have taken the hen 
fever. And, in this case, the victim was really rabid with 
the Merino mania. In proof of this, the following authentic 
anecdote will be amply sufficient and convincing. 

There resided, at this time, in Lexington, Ky., and but a 
short distance from Mr. Clay's villa of Ashland, a wealthy 
gentleman, named Samuel Trotter, who was, in fact, the 
money-king of Kentucky, and who, to a very great extent, 
at that time, controlled the branch of the Bank of the 
United States. He had two sheep, — a buck and an ewe, — 
and Mr. Long was very anxious to possess them. 

Mr. Long repeatedly bantered and importuned Mr. Trot- 
ter to obtain this pair of sheep from him, but without suc- 
cess ; but, one day, the latter said to the former, " If you 
will build me such a house, on a certain lot of land, as I 
shall describe, you shall have the Merinos." 

"Draw your plans for the buildings," replied Long, 
instantly, " and let me see them; I will then decide." 

The plans were soon after submitted to him, and Long 
eagerly accepted the proposal, and forthwith engaged in the 
enterprise. He built for Trotter a four-story brick house, 
about fifty feet by seventy, on the middle of an acre of 



300 THE HISTOKY OF 

land ; he finished it in the most approved modern style, 
and enclosed it with a costly fence ; and, finally, handed it 
over to Trotter, for the two Merino sheep. The establish- 
ment must have cost, at the very least, fifteen thousand 
dollars. 

But, alas ! A long while before this beautiful and costly 
estate was fully completed, the price of Merinos declined 
gradually ; and six months had not passed away before 
they would not command twenty dollars each, even in Ken- 
tucky. 

Mr. Long was subsequently a wiser but a 'poorer man. 
He held on to this pair till their price reached the par 
value only of any other sheep ; and then he absolutely killed 
this buck and ewe, made a princely barbecue, called all his 
friends to the feast, and whilst the "goblet went its giddy 
rounds," like the ruined Venetian, he thanked God that, at 
that moment, he was not worth a ducat ! 

This is absolute, sober fact. Mr. Long was completely 
and irretrievably ruined in his pecuniary affairs ; and very 
soon after this "sumptuous dinner," he took sick, and 
actually died of a broken heart. 

Along in the summer and fall of 1854, having watched 
the course that matters were taking in the chicken-trade, I 
became cautious ; for I thought I heard in the far-off dis- 
tance something indefinite, and almost undistinguishable, 
yet pointed and emphatic in its general tone. I listened ; 



THE HEN FEVER. 



501 



and, as nearly as I could make the warning out, it sounded 
like "Take care!" 

And so I waited for the denouement that was yet to 
come. In the mean time, I had a friend who for five long- 
years had been religiously seeking for that incomprehensi- 
ble and never-yet-come-at-able ignis fatuns, a genuine 
" Cochin-China" fowl of undoubted purity ! 

I had not heard of or from him for some weeks ; until, 
one morning, about this time, a near relative of his sent to 
my house all that remained of this indefatigable searcher 
after truth ; an accurate drawing of which I instantly caused 
to be made — and here it is ! 




26 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

BURSTING OF THE BUBBLE. 

My friend John Giles, of Woodstock, Conn., has some- 
where said, of late, "I often hear that the 'fowl' fever is 
dying out. If by this is meant the unhealthy excitement 
■which we have had for a feAV years past, for one, I say the 
sooner that it dies out the better. But as to the enthusiasm 
of true lovers of the feathered tribe dying out, it never will, 
as long as man exists. It is part of God's creation. The 
thinking man loves and admires his Maker's work ; always 
did ; always will. And I have not the least doubt that any 
enterprising young man, with a suitable place and fancier's 
eye, would find it to his advantage to embark in the enter- 
prise of fowl-raising for market." 

Now, I don't know but John is honest in this assertion, — ■ 
that is, I can imagine that he believes in this theory ! But 
how he can ever have arrived at such a conclusion (with 
the results of his own experience before him), is more than 
I can comprehend. 

Laying aside all badinage, for the moment, I think it may 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 803 

i 

be presumed that I have had some share of experience in 
this business, practically, and I think I can speak advis- 
edly on this subject. As far back as during the years 
,1889, : 40 and '41, I erected, in Koxbury, a poultry estab- 
lishment on a large scale, upon a good location, where I had 
the advantages of ample space, twenty separate hen-houses, 
running water and a fine pond on the premises, glass- 
houses (cold, and artificially heated, for winter use), and 
every appurtenance, needful or ornamental, was at my 
command. 

I purchased and bred all kinds of domestic fowls there, 
and they were attended with care from year's end to year's 
end. But there was no profit whatever resulting from 
the undertaking, — and why ? 

The -very week that a mass of poultry — say three to 
five hundred fowls — is put together upon one spot, they 
begin to suffer, and fail, and retrograde, and die. ISTo amount 
of care, cleanliness or watching, can evade this result. In 
a body (over a dozen to twenty together), they cannot 
thrive ; nor can the owner coax or force them to lay eggs, 
by any known process.* 

* Since this was -written, I find in the Country Gentleman a communica- 
tion from L. F. Allen, Esq., on this very subject, in -which he says that 
" A correspondent desires to know how to build a chicken-house for ' about 
one thousand fowls.' If my poor opinion is worth anything, he will not 
build it at all. Fowls, in any large number, will not thrive. Although I 



304 THE HISTORY OF 

To succeed with the breeding of poultry, the stock must 
be colonized (if a large number of fowls be kept), or else 
only a few must find shelter in any one place, about the 
farm or country residence. And my experience has taught 
me that five hens together will yield more eggs than fifty- 
five together will in the same number of months. 

I honestly assert, to-day, that of all the humbug that 
exists, or which has been made to exist, on this subject, no 
part of it is more glaringly deceptive, in my estimation, than 
that which contends for the profit that is to be gained by 
breeding poultry — as a business by itself — for market 
consumption. The idea is preposterous and ridiculous, 
and no man can accomplish it, — I care nottvhat his facil- 
ities may be, — to any great extent, iipon a single estate. 
The thing is impossible ; and I state this, candidly, after 
many years of practical experience among poultry, on a 
liberal scale, and in the possession of rare advantages for 
repeated experiment. 

I do not say that certain persons who have kept a few 
fowls (from twenty-five to a hundred, perhaps), and who 
have looked after them carefully, may not have realized a 
profit upon them, in connection with the farm. But, to 

have seen it tried, I never knew a large collection of several hundred 
fowls succeed in a confined place. I have known sundry of these enter- 
prises tried ; but I never knew one permanently successful. They were all, 
in turn, abandoned." The thing is entirely impracticable. 



THE HEN FEVER. 305 

make it a business by itself, I repeat it, a mass of domestic 
and aquatic fowls cannot be kept together to any advan- 
tage whatever, their produce to be disposed of at ordinary 
market value. 

The fever for the " fancy " stock broke out at a time when 
money was plenty, and when there was no other speculation 
rife in which every one, almost, could easily participate. 
The prices for fowls increased with astonishing rapidity. 
The whole community rushed into the breeding of poultry, 
without the slightest consideration, and the mania was by 
no means confined to any particular class of individuals — 
though there was not a little shyness among certain circles 
who were attacked at first ; but this feeling soon gave way, 
and our first men, at home and abroad, were soon deeply 
and riotously engaged in the subject of henology. 

Meantime, in England they were doing up the matter 
somewhat more earnestly than with us on this side of the 
water. To show how even the nobility never l i put their 
hand to the plough and look back " when anything in this 
line is to come off, and the better to prove how fully the 
poultry interests were looked after in England, I would 
point to the names of those who, from 1849 to 1855. 
patronized the London and Birmingham associations for the 
improvement of domestic poultry. 

The Great Annual Show, at Bingley Hall, was got up 
under the sanction of His Royal Highness Prince Albert, 
26* 






806 THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 

the Duchess of Sutherland, Lady Charlotte Gough, the 
Countess of Bradford, lit. Hon. Countess of Littlefield, Lady 
Chetwynd, Hon. Viscountess Hill, Lady Littleton, Hon. 
Mrs. Percy, Lady Scott, and a host of other noble and 
royal lords and ladies, whose names are well known among 
the lines of English aristocracy. 

But, as time advanced, the star of Shanghae-ism began to 
wane. The nobility tired of the excitement, and the people 
of England and of the United States began to ascertain that 
there was absolutely nothing in this " hum," save what the 
' ' importers and breeders ' ' had made, through the influence 
of the newspapers ; and while a few of the last men were 
examining the thickness of the shell, cautiously and warily, 
the long-inflated bubble burst ! and, as the fragments 
descended upon the devoted heads of the unlucky star-gaz- 
ers, a cry was faintly heard, from beneath the ruins — 
" Stand from tinder ! " 

I had been watching for this climax for several months ; 
and when the explosion occurred, as nearly as I can " cal- 
'late," I was n't thar ! 



CHAPTER XLV. 

THE DEAD AND WOUNDED. 

I have never yet been able to ascertain, authentically, 
all the exact particulars of the final catastrophe ; but, basing 
an opinion upon the numerous " dispatches " I received 
from November, 1854, to February, 1855, the number of 
dead and wounded must have been considerable, if not more. 
I received scores of letters, during this last period men- 
tioned, of which the annexed is a fair sample : 

"G. P. Burnham, Esq. 

"Dear Sir: I'm afraid the jig is up! There's 
a big hole in the bottom somewhere, or I am mistaken. I 
think the dance is concluded ; and if it is n't time to 
1 blow out the lights ' and shut down the gate, just let 
us know. — will you ? Where 's Bennett, and Harry 
Williams, and Dr. Eben, and Childs, and Ad. White, 
and Brackett, and Johnny Giles, and Uncle Alden, and 
Buckminster, and C bickering, and Cofiin, and Fussell, 
and Chenery, and Gilman, and Hatch, and Jaques, and 
Barnum, and Southwick, and Packard, and Balch, and 



308 THE HISTORY 01 

Morton, and Plarsted, and Geo. White, et id omne genus ? 
Where are they all ? S-a-y ! 

" What has become of Piatt, and Miner, and Newell, and 
Hudson, and Heffron, and Taggard, and Hill, and Swett, 
and M'Clintock, and Dr. Kerr, and Devereux, andThacher, 
and Haines, and Hildreth, and Brown, and Smith, and 
Green, and their allies ? Are they dead, or only ' kilt ' ? 
Let me know, if you can, I beseech you ! 

" '• 0, where, tell me where,' is my bonnie friend 
John Moore, and mine ancient frere Morse, and my loved 
chum Howard, and the wily Butters ? And where 's Ped- 
der — the immaculate Pedder ? And Charley Belcher, 
too, and bragging Cornish, and Billy Everett, and our good 
neighbors Parkinson, and George, and Sol. Jewett, and Pres- 
ident Kimball, and know-nothing King, and the reverend 
Marsh, and Pendletonian Pendleton of Pendleton Hill, and 
their satellites? Have all departed, and left no wreck 
behind ? I reckon not ! 

"Seriously, friend B , what does all this mean? 

Has the fever passed by? Can't we offer another single 
prescription ? Has the last man been heard from ? Has 
there been found ' a balm in Gilead ' to heal the wounds of 
the afflicted sufferers ? Is the thing finished ? Are they 
all cured? Did you say all? D under and blixen ! Is 
anybody hurt ? What are we to do ? : Speak, or die ! ' 

"Where are the 'Committee,' and the 'Judges,' and the 



THE HEN FEVER. oUtf 

' Trustees,' and the ' Managers' ? Where is the ' Society ' 
■whose name, ' like linked sweetness long drawn out,' I 
have n't time to write ? Where is that balance in the 
Treasurer 's hands,' — and where is that functionary himself? 
Did he ever exist at all ? What has become of the premi- 
ums that were awarded at the last show in Boston ? And 
when, in the language of the enthusiastic Mr. Snooks (at 
the Statehouse in 1850), will that Association begin ' to be 
forever perpetuated,' — eh? 

"I have got on hand three hundred of the Shanghae 
devils ! What can I do with them ? There is a neighbor 
of mine (a police-officer), who has got stuck with a lot of 
1 Cochin ' chickens, which he swears he won't support this 
winter ; and he has at last advertised them as stolen prop- 
erty, in the faint hope, I suppose, that some ' green 'un ' 
will come forward and claim them. You can't get rid of 
these birds ! It is useless to try to sell them ; you can't 
give them away; nobody will take them. You can't 
starve them, for they are fierce and dangerous when aggra- 
vated, and will kick down the strongest store-closet door ; 
and you can't kill them, for they are tough as rhinocer- 
oses, and tenacious of life as cats. Ah ! Burnham, I have 
never forgiven the man who made me a present of my first 
lot! Do you want what I've got left? Will you take 
them ? How much shall I pay you to receive them ? 
Help me out, if you can. 



310 THE HISTORY OF 

"lam not aware that I ever committed any offence, that 
this judgment should be thus visited upon mypoov head! 
I never sold fowls for "what they were not ; I never cheated 
anybody, that I know of; I do not remember ever having 
done any unjust act that should bring down upon me this 
terrible vengeance. Yet I am now the owner of nearly 
three hundred of these infernal, cursed, miserable ghosts in 
' feathered mail,' which I cannot get rid of! Tell me what 
I shall do, and answer promptly. 

"Yours, in distress. 



I have smiled over this document, so full of feeling and 
earnestness, so lively and touching in its recollections of the 
days when we went chicfcen-ing, long time ago ! But I 
have never been able to reply fully to my ardent friend's 
numerous inquiries. I don't want those "three hundred 
Shanghae devils," though. I have now on hand nine of 
them (only, thank Heaven !) myself; and that is quite 
enough for one farm, at the present current price of grain. 

What has become of all the friends about whom my cor- 
respondent so carefully inquires, I don't know. Not jive of 
them are now in the hen-trade, however ; and there are not 
ten of them who got out of the business with a whole skin, 
from the commencement. 

The engine has collapsed its boiler. There was alto- 



THE HEN FEVER. 311 

gether too much steam crowded on, and the managers were 
not all "up to snuff." The dead and wounded and 
dying are now scattered throughout New England and New 
York State chiefly, and their moans can occasionally be 
heard, though their groans of repentance come too late to 
help them. 

They recklessly invested their twenties, or fifties, or hun- 
dreds, and, in some instances, their thousands of dollars, in 
this hum, without any knowledge of the business, and without 
any consideration whatever, except the single aim to keep 
the bubble floating aloft until they could realize anticipated 
fortunes, on a larger or smaller scale, as the case might be. 
But the " cars have gone by," and they may now wait for 
another train. Perhaps it will come ! 

Poor fellows ! Poor, deluded, crazy, reckless dupes ! 
You have had your fun, many of you, and you will now 
have the opportunity to reflect over the ruins that are piled 
up around you ; while, for the time being, you may well 
exclaim, with the sulky and flunkey Moor, 

" Othello's occupation 's gone ! " 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

A MOURNFUL PROCESSION. 

I WAS sitting before my comfortable library fire in mid- 
winter, 1854, and had been reflecting upon the mutability 
of human affairs generally, and the uncertainty of Shang- 
hae-ism more particularly, when I finally dropped into a 
gentle slumber in my easy-chair, where I dozed away an 
hour, and dreamed. 

My thoughts took a very curious turn. I fancied myself 
sitting before a large window that opened into a broad pub- 
lic street, in which I suddenly discovered a multitude of 
people moving actively about ; and I thought it was some 
gala-day in the city, for the throng appeared to be excited 
and anxious. " The people " were evidently abroad : and 
the crowds finally packed themselves along the sidewalks, 
leaving the wide street open and clear ; and I could over- 
hear the words " They 're coming ! " " Here they are ! " 

I looked out, and beheld an immense gathering of human 
beings approaching in a line that stretched away as far as 
the eye could reach, — a dense mass of moving mortality, 



THE HISTOKY OP THE HEN FEVER. 313 

that soon arrived, and passed the window, beneath me. I 
was alone in the room, and could ask no questions. I could 
only see what occurred before me ; and I noted down, as 
they passed by, this motley procession, which moved in 

the following 

Order of March. 

Escort of Indescribables. 

Hatless Aid. [ Chief Marshal in Black. ] Bootless Aid. 

Police. Two Ex-Mormons in White Tunics. Police. 

Calathuinpian Band. 
Whig ( The "Know Nothing Guards," with guns ) Democrat 
Office-holders. ^ enough for all useful purposes. ) Ex P eotant3 - 

The " Ins." [ Collector and Postmaster. ] The " Outs." 

U. S. Marshal. 5 The " National " Democracy, two deep, > ^ g _ Dist _ 
£ in one section. y 

Banner. 

Motto — " We know of Burns that Russia Salve can't cure." 

" Aids to the Revenue. " [ Marshal. ] Drawbacks on the Revenue. 

Kaleb Krushing. [ The Man who Fainted in Mexico. ] Jorge ah ! Poll. 

" Fanny Fern," 

Flanked by a company of disappointed Publishers, 

twenty-four deep, in twelve sections. 

Banner. 

Motto. — "She 's a brick ! " 

Aids. [ Marshal. ] Aids. 

President of the " N. E. Mutual Admiration" Hen Society. 

Fat Marshal. [ The Great Show Man. ] Lean Marshal. 

Band, playing the " Rogue's March." 

Marshal. Ghost of Joice Heth, Marshal. 

Aids, ( A Fejee Mermaid, astride ) Aids, 

of Quaking Shakers. £ the Woolly Horse. J The Ha PPy FamU y- 

C Invited Guests. } 

Their 'readers S „ The Three Historians, ? "admirers." 

£ Burnham, Prescot, and Bancraft. 3 

Escort in the rear, with charged bayonets. 

Police 5 A ff enuine " Cochin-Chim. " Rooster, > police 

" \ succeeded by the man who knew him to be such ! ) 

Marshal. £ The entire United States American National ) Marshal. 

Pea Wilder. \ Agricultural Society, in a one-horse buggy. 5 w - ESS kin S- 

27 



314 



THE HISTORY OF 



[The good this association had accomplished was borne along by a stout 
"practical farmer," in a small thimble; the records of its doings were 
inscribed on a huge roll of paper, 16,000 yards long, carried upon a truck 
drawn by twelve yoke of " pure " Devon oxen.] 

Banner. — Motto : " Ourselves and those who vote for us." 
Aid, C An ex-U. S. Navy Agent who left that office } Aidj 

Naval Store < without having made money out of his place ! > U. S. 
Keeper. £ Banner. — Motto : " Poor, but honest." ) Sub-Treasurer. 

The Mass. Hort. Improvement Society, "* 
en masse, with several full bands of 
music, on " seedling 
ments, etc. 

Banner. 

Motto : " Cuss the Concord Grape." J 

The man who voluntarily gave up his office under the 

National government, solus, on horseback, with 

Banner. — Motto : " Few die, and none resign." 

"The Young 'Un," 
The defunct in his own barouche, drawn by four " superb 
New England -j dapple-grey Shanghaes." 

Hen Society. Banner.— Motto : } „ C Banner.— Motto 

I "JVotthis child! "\ 



One hundred and 
twenty-five < 
Marshals. 



No 
Aids. 



Twenty-five 
accompani- I hundred and one 
"old-inedal 



Nc 
friends. 



His 

vanquished 
Com- 
petitors. 



, r Music, 
"Who s afraid? ) 

C Hen Men who had Mistaken their Calling, > p 

( twenty-eight deep, in four hundred sections. 5 

C Grain Men, with their bills, J 

nt n Aid \, < iu seventy sections, > , ,, A 11 * 3 ' „„ 

24 Constables. } . , „•' , ' i All in a row 

£ sixty-lour deep. ) 

Band, playing " Hope told a flattering tale.." 

'The great-grandson of the man who set"| 

out an orchard of dwarf Pear-trees 

\ (in a barouche). He was 102 years > 

old, and believed he should see fruit on | 

those same trees " next season " ! J 

Pall Bearers. [ HIS COFFIN, BEHIND. ] Heirs to his estate. 

,«T> Aids ' t .. (Believers that Cochituate Water is) _ „ A "? S ». 
12 Respectable < ,. , . s > isoaid ot 

Physicians. ( WHOLESOME (in a chaise)., ) Commissioners 

( Chicken Fanciers who did n't buy their eggs of 



Tree-venders 
and Horticulturists, 



with thumbs 
on their 
noses. 



15 Marshals. 



Aids, 
the Conductors 



me, and who expected they would hatch ! 
(Four thousand strong.) 

{A body of Express Agents, who never shook" 
up the eggs intrusted to them (though 
they occasionally shook down their em- 
ployers). 
Band. — Air : "O, I never will deceive you ! ' 



15 Marshals. 



Aids, 
the Brakemen. 



THE HEIST FEVER. 



315 



Flanked by 

the Subscribers 

for that 

" Double Harness 



" My friend The President," 

In the carriage presented to him by 

" the people," drawn by that 

" superb pair of 01500 horses " 

which we read of in 

the papers. 

Motto: ( Rl „ irao > Motto 

I'll see you in the Fall." { • DANNERS - ] « 

Full Band. 

{The Hatch Grey Shanghae Express Co.,"} 
with the latest news from Nantucket | 
and ' ' Marm Hackett's Garden. ' ' 
Motto : " Important, if true ! " J 
["Holders of Second' Mortgage R. R. Bonds, 
j 24 deep, in 2400 sections. 

} Banner. 

(^ Motto : " There 's a good time coming." 
C The owner of the first " Brahma Pootra " 
< fowls in America, with a map of India 
£ on the seat of his pantaloons. 

The original members of the 
"Women's Rights Convention." 
Band. — Air : " Why don't the men propose? " 
("The " wreck of Burnham's character ""] 



and the 
mourners " who 
did n't obtain 
fat offices. 



Aid, 
Brass & Co, 



Aid, 
Two Presidents. 



Aids, 
6 Regular 
Doctors. 



Aid, 
Lucy Brick 



Save me from my friends ! " 



Aid, 
The "Colonel." 



Aid, 
One Treasurer. 



Aid, 
Abby Fulsome. 



Aids, 
The First Premium i cause J l b F the Powerful newspaper \ The "Porte- 
Fowls I assaults of one fMonnaie I owe 'em 
[ Tee Bee Minur, A.SS. J Company. 
Banner. — Motto : "Don't he feel bad ! " 



No 
aid for 
him ! 



The Poultry Fancier who had found out the exact " 
difference between a "Cochin-China" and a 
" Shanghae." 
Unpaid ( Delinquent subscribers to northern Fanners, ) Disa 
Compositors. £ twelve deep, and three miles long ! 5 " Pre 

Marshal. [ The " editor," suffering from a severe attack of roup. ] Marshal. 
Dr. Bangit, with the unsold copies of his Poultry-Book, 
in a huge baggage-wagon, drawn by 14 horses. 
(A battalion of victims to the Hen Fever, who hacH 
bought eggs that " did n't hatch," and who I 
were waiting patiently to have their money f 
returned ! J 

My legal friend (on a mule) who promised ~) 

to spend a thousand dollars in prosecuting I JaiI Keeper 
me for selling him Shanghae eggs for [ 4 Constables. 
Cochin-Chinas'. 



Aids, 

15 Sisters of 

Charity. 



Marshal and 
Deputy Sheriff. 



Too far 
gone ! 



isappointed 
ress Gang." 



Goliah. 

Aids, 
15 friends 
to the 
Insane 
Poor. 



316 



THE HISTOEY OP 



Aid, 5 ^ a * J°h nn y Jiles, with the head of a pure " Black ) Aid 



Barnam. > 



JBv 



Marshals. 



Aids, 
A "Cabinet" 
of Curiosities. 



Aid, 

Editor of the 

Northum Farmer 



Aids, 
The Sellers. 



Marshals. 



Aids, 
His own 
\ Opinions ! 

Aid, 

Gen. Baxgit, 

of the 

■ Nauvoo Legion." 



Aids, 
The Victims. 



Marshals. 



Spanish ' ' crower on a salver. 
The men who did n't take the first premiums" 
(when I was round) at the Poultry-Shows 
(in deep mourning). 
' The political remains of Frank Pierce, in a } 
toy wheelbarrow, with Banner, on a > 
"sharp stick." Motto: " Veto." J 

("Victims who purchased Minor's ^ 
J "Patent Cross-grained Collat- 1 
eral Beehives," with Motto : | 
[ "Burned child dreads the fire." J 
Customers for "Ozier Willow" 
in two sections, one man deep. 
__ Banner. — Motto : " J rather guess not ! 
A huge concourse of " Copper Stock " and " Agewuth 
Land " owners, in deep sables. 
Full Band. — Air : Dead March. 
Banner. — Motto : ' ' You 're sure to win — if you don't lose ! ' ' 
|y A smooth-skinned pure " Suffolk " Pig, imported. ^1 
Twenty-four Sewing Machines, " war ranted." 

Aid, (President of the " Porte-Monnaie I owe 'em) Aid, 
Secretary. £ Company," as Richard III. on horseback. ) Treasurer. 

Nine " Bother'em Pootrums," rampant. 

The identical lot of " pure-bred " fowls that Bangit, ' 

Plarsterd, Minor, Humm & Co., imported (over] 

the left) " for the Southern market," in 1853 ! 

The Hen that lays two eggs a day ! 

Treasurer of the " Mut. Adm'n Society." 

Defunct Hucksters, in a tip-cart. 

Four empty Hen-Coops, on wheels. 

jgp" Breeders of pure Alclerney cattle ! .JP 

who furnish Pedigrees with long tails. 

An effigy of the Last Man that will buy Shanghae chickens 

(in a strait-jacket). 

Police C Purchasers of Live Stock who bought of my competitors ; ~i sheriff 
and < with Banner. > and 



Aids. 



Motto : " We got more than we bargained for ! ' 

The Hen-Men who " pity Poor Burnham." 

My Own Cash Customers, 

10,000 strong ! 

Cavalcade. 

"THE PEOPLE," 

Music, 

And the rest of Mankind, 

etc. 



THE HEN FEVER. 



317 



The scene was closing ! That immense concourse of 
humbugs and humbugged had passed on, and I was alone 
once more. But, a moment afterwards, I saw the head and 
face of a comical and good-humored looking Yankee (just 
beneath the window), who was in the act of puffing into the 
air a huge budget of bubbles, that danced and floated in the 
atmosphere for a brief moment, and which, bursting, sud- 
danly awoke me. Here is a sketch of the finale. 




CHAPTER XLVII. 

MY SHANGHAE DINNER. 

I saw by the papers, one day, late in the year 1854, 
an account of the return from England of my fat friend 
Giles, who brought with him the poultry purchased 
abroad for Mr. Barnum, and which proved to be a lot of 
pure stock, of a remarkable character, as I supposed it 
would be. 

But, while John was absent in Great Britain, the know- 
ing ones there shook him down, beautifully ! His theory, 
when he left America, four months previously, was that 
" hall 'at was wanted 'ere was to get hover from Hingland 
pure-bred fowls, and such would sell." John brought over 
"such," and they did sell; but Barnum was sold by far 
the worst ! 

An auction was immediately got up at the American 
Museum, in New York ; and after a vast deal of drumming, 
puffing and advertising this magnificent, just-imported, 
pure-bred poultry, the sale came off, to a sorry company, 
indeed ! And the gross amount of the sales of the fowls 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 319 

thus disposed of, really, was insufficient to pay the freight 
bills for bringing them across the Atlantic, to say nothing 
of their original high cost abroad. The show-man has 
since left the hen-business, I learn, "a wiser if not a better 
man;" while John retired with the simple exclamation, 
"Most extr'ornerry result I hever 'eer 'd of in hall my 
life ! » 

Soon after this little episode occurred, the second show 
of the "National Poultry Society" (in January, 1855) 
came off at Barnum's Museum, in New York ; which, 
notwithstanding the best endeavors of the "President," was 
a failure. The "Committee" shut out of their premium 
list the Grey Shanghaes, altogether ; and the result of this 
last exhibition was just what I had anticipated. But Mr. 
Barnum can well afford to foot the bills ; and, as he is per- 
fectly willing to do this, no objection will be raised to his 
choice, I presume. This final exhibition at New York, I 
have no doubt, closed up the business, for the present. 

As soon as this last fair had closed, and when the 
lucky and unlucky contributors returned to Boston, I 
invited a party of my former confreres to my residence, 
to dinner. I had been preparing for this little event 
for several days; and the following was the actual "bill 
of fare" to which we all sat down, at Russet House, 
Melrose, on the fifth day of February, 1855 : 



320 



THE HISTORY OF 



tutur* 



SOUP — A la Shanghae, 

FRESH F ISH — With China Sauce. 

BOILED FOWL — To ivit, the identical Grey Shanghae cock (two 
years old) which took the premium at the first National Poultry 
Show, in New York, in 1854 ; then valued at §100. 

ROAST — Shanghae Cock, nine months old, weighing, dressed, 10J pounds. 
Do. Shanghae Pullets, same age, drawing, dressed, 7i pounds each. 

Do. Spring Shanghae Chickens in variety. 

BAKED — Pure " Suffolk " Pig, with genu-wine " Mandarin " Sauce. 



ENTREM ENTS. 



Broiled Shanghae Chicks. 
Stewed Shanghae Chickens. 
Curried Shanghae Fowls. 



Fried Shanghae Pullets. 
Coddled Shanghae Stags. 
Fricasseed Shanghaes. 



Shanghaes Truffled, 

and 

More SHANGHAES, if wanted! 



D ESS E RT. 



Shanghae Chicken Pie. 
Shanghae Omelets. 
Shanghae Custards. 
Chinese Pudding. 



Pudding a la Shanghae. 
Candied Cocks' Spurs. 
Crystallized Pullets' Combs. 
Shanghae Wattles, in Syrup. 




SHANGH AE-QUILL TOOTH-PlCKS, 

and 
MORE SHANGHAES IN THE YAED! 



THE HEN FEVER. 321 

To this repast, with thankful hearts, a company of five- 
and-twenty sat down, and, as nearly as my recollection now 
serves me, the friends did ample justice to my Shanghae 
dinner. After two hours over the varied dishes (varied in 
size and style of cooking only), the cloth was removed, and 
the intellectual treat commenced with a song, written ' ' ex- 
pressly for this occasion," by the Young 'Un, which was 
delivered with admirable effect by "one who had been 
there," and in the chorus of which the guests unitedly 
joined, with surprising harmony and unison. The follow- 
ing toasts were then submitted : 

By the Man in the Black Coat. — The Memory of the 
defunct Rooster we have this day devoured : Peace to his 
manes ! (Drank standing, in silence.) 

By a Successful Breeder. — The health, long life, and 
prosperity, of our absent cash customers, — at home and 
abroad. 

By an Amateur. — Honor to the discoverer of the exact 
difference between a "Shanghae" and a " Cochin- China " 
fowl, if he shall ever turn up ! 

By the "Confidence" Man. — The Continuity of the 
beautifully-elongated Chinese fowls : May their shadows 
never be less ! 

By a Victim. — The Bother' em Wot-yer-call-'ems : 
Dammum ! (Nine cheers for Doctors Bennett and Mi- 
ner.) 



322 THE HISTORY OF 

By a Disappointed " Fancier." — Barn-yard fowls and 
white-shelled eggs, for my money. (Three cheers for the 
old-style biddies.) 

By the Youth in a White Fes*. — "Fanny Fern": The 
hen that lays the golden eggs. (Six cheers for Fanny, and 
the fair sex generally.) 

By a Repentant. — The whole Shanghae Tribe : Curse 
'em ; the more fowls you see of this race, the less eggs 
there are about ! (This was deemed slightly personal, but 
it was permitted to pass ; the gentleman spoke with unusual 
feeling ; he had been only three years in the trade, and had 
expended some sixteen hundred dollars in experimenting 
with a view to establish a breed that would lay two eggs 
daily.) 

By One of my "Friends." — The Young 'Un : The 
only hen-man who has put the knife in up to the handle 
with a decent grace ! (Nine cheers followed, for the im- 
porter of the only pure-bred poultry in America.) 

This last sentiment called me to my feet, naturally 
enough ; and, as nearly as I remember, I thus addressed 
my guests, amidst the most marked and respectful attention : 

" Gentlemen : I think I have seen it written some- 
where, or I have heard it said, ' It is a long lane that has 
no turn in it.' I believe, however, that, although the lane 
we have most of us been travelling for the last six years 



THE HEN FEVER. 323 

has proved somewhat tortuous as well as lengthy, we have 
now passed the turn in it, and have arrived verynearly at 
the end of the road. 

"Few of you, gentlemen, have met with so many thorns, 
en route, as I have ; none of you, perhaps, have gathered 
so many roses. I am content, and I trust that everybody 
is as well satisfied with the results of this journey as I" am. 
The Shanghae trade is done, gentlemen ! We have this 
day eaten up what, four years ago, would have been the 
nucleus, at least, of a small fortune to any one of us who at 
that time might have chanced to have possessed it. But the 
fever is over ; the demand for giraffe cocks and chaise-top 
hens is passed ; the ' poor remains of beauty once admired, 
in my premium fowls,' now lie scattered about the dishes 
that have just left this table ; and ' Brahma-pootra-ism ' is 
now no longer rampant. 

" Perhaps, gentlemen, as you entertain opinions of your 
own upon this delightfully pleasing subject of poultry-rais- 
ing generally, and of the propagation of Shanghae fowls in 
particular, you would care to hear nothing of my views 
regarding this point. Yet, I pray you, indulge me for a 
single moment — in all seriousness — and permit me to say 
(without the slightest intention of being personal), that we 
have proved ourselves a clan of short-sighted mortals, at the 
best, during the last half-dozen years, in our crazy devotion 
to what we have deemed an honorable and laudable ' profes- 



324 THE HISTORY OF 

sion,' but which has been, in reality, the most shallow, 
heartless; unreasonable, silly and bottomless humbug that 
grown-up men have ever been cajoled with, since the hour 
when Adam was fooled by the accomplished and coquetting 
E ve ! " (Cries of < ' You 're more 'n half right ! " " That 's 
a fact ! " ' ' Exactly — just so ! " ) 

"There is now living in Melrose, Mass., gentlemen, a 
breeder who begun at the beginning of this excitement, who 
has since followed up the details of this hum with a zeal 
worthy of a better cause : and who has accumulated a hand- 
some competency in this traffic, by attending strictly to his 
own affairs, while he has uniformly acted upon the princi- 
ple that this world is sufficiently capacious to accommodate 
all God's creatures, without jostling. If you should chance 
to meet this now retired fowl-fancier, he will tell you that 
he has had, and believes he still has, many personal friends; 
but the very best c friend ' he has ever known is the enjoy- 
ment of his present income of eight per cent, interest, per 
annum, upon thirty thousand dollars. But this is a digres- 
sion, and I beg pardon for the allusion. 

"I look back with no regrets at the past, gentlemen. 
We have seen a great many merry days, and, in the midst 
of the competition and humbuggery in which we enlisted, 
we have often differed in sentiment. But here. — at the 
close of the route on which we have so long been journey- 
ing, — let us remember only the good traits that we any of 



THE HEN FEVER. 325 

us possess, while from this point we forget the errors that 
ourselves and our companions maj have committed, for- 
ever." (Three times three, "and one more," were here 
given for the speaker, his friends, and all the rest of man- 
kind.) 

" I will say no more, gentlemen. My stomach is too full 
for further convenient utterance ; and I will conclude with a 
sentiment to which, I am sure, you will all respond. I will 
give you — 

" 'The Hen Fever !'" — 

"Don't, don't!" shrieked the crowd. "We've had 
that disease once, and that is quite sufficient." 

"Indulge me, gentlemen, one moment, and I will pro- 
pose, then — 

"'The Hen Trade: Though a fowl calling, it puts 
fair money in the purse, when "judiciously" managed. 
May none of you ever do worse, pecuniarily, in this 
humble "profession," than has your friend — the sub- 
scriber.' " 

Another round of hearty cheers succeeded this sentiment, 
a parting bumper was enjoyed, and the circle sepa- 
rated, to meet again at Philippi, — or elsewhere, — 
where the author hopes to encounter only friendly faces, 
whatever may have been his business relations with 
28 



326 



THE HISTORY OF THE HEN FEVER. 



his acquaintances in the clays that are now passed 
away. 

The mania is over. I have frankly repeated to you 
the humble history of this curious fever, and we have 
reached 



THE END 



C-C^iA-SZ, 




■ 






*p 









■ ' " f? r <p. 



i> -u 



*J 



r J- 







































*U- V 



,', 






-^■^ 















^"^ 



.< 



'<fi 






*5a V 












■ 



. 



_ 



'<- 



-*- V 





















.- 



V 



\ x 



^ ^. 



S 



<P 



^ # 



,0o, 



\ v 



b. 






\ . 












■>•%, 






c- 


















"°/ .i^' 






/ 












V 









V 



s 0o 






v<. 






% 






^ V 


















<^ A* 1 

vOo. 






V 



of* X. 









> 



% 






.\* v <J> 












& , 



& 



< A 



'o 

























'**, 








^ / 














1- 




% 















* A 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002840 034 2 



t 



